Cambodia, like Vietnam, has also knelt to the United States! Cambodia and Vietnam are in the same situation. The tariff rate for goods exported from Cambodia to the United States is 20%, while the tariff rate for transshipment trade is 40%. Goods imported by Cambodia from the United States are duty-free, with zero tariffs. In this way, the conditions of Cambodia and Vietnam are consistent. First, Vietnam knelt down, and Cambodia had no choice but to kneel as well. Currently, Laos has not yet finalized some trade tariff rates, but it should be similar to those of Vietnam and Cambodia.
At the root of the matter, it's not that Cambodia wants to kneel down; it's just that Cambodia's strength is insufficient. Vietnam is the same. First, Vietnam set a bad example. Vietnam was too eager to get the United States settled and then wanted to continue trade, but because it was too proactive, it led to the current unfavorable situation.
Moreover, Cambodia also has a large number of domestic enterprises producing here, so there should be no big problem. However, the transshipment tax is somewhat disadvantageous. Moreover, this transshipment tax mainly targets our Chinese trade, which is a fact. No matter what, Cambodia has determined the tariff rate in advance, which solves one issue, and there's no need to worry about the interruption of trade.
Especially, the Hun Sen family in Cambodia has just had a very sharp conflict with Thailand. Therefore, announcing in advance that they have reached an agreement on trade tariff rates with the United States is also a good outcome. No matter what, the amount of goods that Cambodia exports to the United States is not much, and the amount of goods it imports from the United States is even less. So, the tariff reduction being zero is also an unavoidable measure.
In fact, do you know, have you ever thought that if Cambodia has zero import tariffs and then exports to China, can it enjoy some lower tariff rates? The author himself is not sure, but becoming a middleman might also be possible.
Cambodia is such a small country, and the volume of its imports and exports is very small, so there is no real need to kneel. Anyway, these small Southeast Asian countries don't have any other tricks, and they can only accept the US's arrogant coercion and sanctions. This is the reality.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836889737815168/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.