Page 10 - Harmonised System News Today

Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam (CMTV) may soon have to pay tariffs as high as 254 per cent on the export of solar panels and modules to the US, following claims that mainland Chinese manufacturers could be circumventing Washington’s duties by assembling related equipment in these four Southeast Asian countries, according to reports.

Cambodia exported nearly 1.031 million tonnes of cassava in either fresh, dried, powder or pulp/residue form in the first three months of 2023, of which nearly three-quarters went to Thailand, according to agriculture ministry data, as local reports suggest that prices for the tubers in Battambang are up 20-30 per cent year-on-year.

Cambodia's international trade volume passed $11 billion in the first quarter of the year – ended March 31 – but registered a drop of over one-seventh from the same period a year earlier albeit a slight decline from the previous quarter, official figures showed, as international economic crises tied to the Ukraine conflict and other geopolitical threats raged on.

The commerce minister on May 3 reiterated an invitation for South Korean investors to pump money into a range of Cambodian sectors and take advantage of the Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) that took effect on December 1.

A border trade agreement signed between Cambodia and Vietnam on November 8 last year – expected to be promulgated soon, having cleared the Senate – should ensure that two-way imports and exports grow at an annual rate of at least 15-20 per cent in the coming years, according to Ministry of Commerce spokesman Penn Sovicheat on May 3.

Cambodia exported “vehicle parts” worth $11.272 million in the first quarter of 2023, ended March 31, registering an increase of 43.52 per cent compared to the $7.854 million booked in the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce reported, citing Customs (GDCE) statistics.

Cambodian exports of “plastics and articles thereof” in the first quarter of 2023 – ended March 31 – were valued at $76.059 million, plunging by nearly 38.06 per cent year-on-year from $122.790 million and sliding almost 10.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter from $84.76 million, according to provisional Customs (GDCE) statistics.

South Korean-owned Yura Harness (Cambodia) Co Ltd is looking at additional investment opportunities in the Cambodian automotive sector and plans to set up a research and development (R&D) centre at an as-yet undetermined location, as the Kingdom’s economic road to recovery continues on a smooth trajectory, according to an industry ministry statement.

Cambodian“iron and steel” imports in the first quarter of 2023 – ended March 31 – clocked in at $93.292 million, rising by nearly 10.95 per cent year-on-year from $84.085 million and close to 6.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter from $88.04 million, according to provisional Customs (GDCE) statistics.

Numbers of Chinese investors in – or expressing interest in – Cambodia have been on a steady climb, and the Kingdom is armed with a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China and similar deals with other countries, as well as preferential market access to many economies, businesspeople and economists have said.