PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times): Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has made a clear and further statement this morning about the shock 49% US tariff rate imposed on Cambodian goods last week – one of the highest in the world.
The Prime Minister’s statement was made on the occasion of the inauguration of the Morodok Techo Skybridge, on the morning of April 7, 2025.
The Prime Minister stated that the 97 percent figure calculated by the United States is not the tariff rate that Cambodia imposes on American goods imported into Cambodia.
The 97 percent is the deficit or surplus in the trade balance between Cambodia and the United States.
The PM also stated that in accordance with the rules of the Cambodian Trade Organization, tariffs on goods from all countries should not exceed 35 percent.
For the United States, he explained that Cambodia’s average tariff is 29.4 percent, and the United States charges an 11 percent tariff on goods imported by Cambodia to the United States.
The Prime Minister said, “I would like to inform those who understand economics…clearly…, 97 percent is not the tariff rate that Cambodia imposes on American goods imported into Cambodia, but rather the deficit rate or bias in the volume of trade between Cambodia and the United States.
The question is, how much tariff does Cambodia impose on American goods?
In 2004, Cambodia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).
We have already committed that all goods, whether from the United States or other countries, should not exceed 35 percent, and Cambodian goods imported to the United States pay an average tariff of 11 percent.”
He added, “It is not true that Cambodia imposes tariffs on 97 percent of American goods, and the reciprocal tariffs are not just ours; the United States also imposes tariffs on our goods.
Our tariffs on American goods have more than 1,868 tariff lines [one tariff line can contain multiple products], including 210 tariff lines where American goods are imported into Cambodia duty-free [zero tariff].
The highest tariff we impose on the United States is only 35 percent, and the average tariff is only 29.4 percent, not 97 percent.” - Khmer Times
