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The EU works closely with Cambodia under the framework of the EU-ASEAN Cooperation Agreement to ensure an effective environment for trade and investment relations.
Cambodia is a member of WTO since 2004 and, as a least developed country, benefits from the European Union's Everything But Arms scheme, which grants unilateral duty free, quota free access for all exports, except arms and ammunition.
On 12 February 2020, the European Commission decided to withdraw part of the tariff preferences granted to Cambodia under the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) trade arrangement due to serious and systematic violations of the human rights principles enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. See Legal Act and Memo.
Trade picture
- In 2023, total trade in goods between the EU and Cambodia equalled €5.8 billion.
- In 2023, the EU ranked as Cambodia's fourth-biggest trade partner, accounting for 8.2% of the country’s total trade (with China at 25.8%, the United States at 19.3%, and Vietnam at 13.9%). Cambodia was the EU’s 65th largest trading partner (accounting for 0.1% of the EU’s total trade).
The EU and Cambodia
As a Least Developed Country (LDC), Cambodia benefits from the most favourable regime available under the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), namely the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme.
The EU’s GSP regulation allows vulnerable developing countries to pay fewer or no duties on exports to the EU, giving them vital access to the EU market and contributing to their growth. The EBA scheme is one arm of the GSP, which grants duty-free and quota-free access to the EU for all products (except arms and ammunition) for the world's Least Developed Countries, as defined by the United Nations.
Exports of textiles and footwear, bicycles, prepared foodstuffs and vegetable products (rice) represented 94.2 % of Cambodia's overall exports to the EU in 2021. Out of the total exports in 2020, about 93% were eligible to EBA preferential duties.
Cambodia and ASEAN
Cambodia is one of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and one of the three LDCs of the organisation. Cambodia is currently holding the rotating presidency of ASEAN.
Trading with Cambodia
- Importing into the EU from Cambodia
- EU trade defence measures on imports from Cambodia
- Exporting from the EU to Cambodia
- Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with Cambodia
- Cambodia is a member of the World Trade Organization
Latest news
As of today, 12 August, some of Cambodia’s typical export products such as garments, footwear and travel goods are subject to the European Union’s customs duties.
The European Commission has decided to withdraw part of the tariff preferences granted to Cambodia under the European Union’s Everything But Arms’ (EBA) trade scheme.