The EU Commission decided on Wednesday to partially withdraw Cambodia’s
preferential access to the European market under the “Everything but Arms”
(EBA) programme because of continued and serious human rights violations.
This means that instead of preferential tariffs, the usual EU tariffs on
certain clothing and footwear will apply from 12th August 2020 – an
increase of 12 and 16 percent, respectively. The Cambodian Garment
Manufacturers Association (GMAC) is “dissatisfied” with the EU’s decision,
as it could potentially jeopardise the jobs of 90,000 garment workers, most
of them women.
Since the trade margins for garments are already stretched to the limit,
especially in the international market, only a few international clients
will be prepared to continue without the trade agreement and to absorb an
increase in costs of 12 or 16 percent. The GMAC represents the interests of
the clothing and travel industries, which account for 75 percent of
Cambodia’s total exports of trade goods and about 90 percent of exports to
the EU, and therefore sees the industry’s future in a bleak light.
Cambodia’s garment sector employs more than 750,000 people
The sector currently employs more than 750,000 people, the majority of
them women, whom the EBA programme has helped out of poverty. By working in
the garment industry, they contribute to their household income and offer
their children a better future. If they lose their jobs, it will be
difficult to find an adequate new one in Cambodia. The GMAC therefore calls
on the EU to reconsider its decision.
“We urge the European Commission and members of the European Parliament
to reconsider their decision by taking into account the values and goals
that the program was based on when it was put in place nearly 20 years ago:
development assistance, poverty reduction and the dignity of employment.
The EBA programme has been a clear success in Cambodia in meeting these
objectives. The partial withdrawal announced on February 12th will lead to
nothing more than job losses and affect the workers livelihoods, especially
women,” states the GMAC in a press release on Tuesday.
It also points to the fact that the association, as part of the
reciprocal commitment to the EBA programme, established “a culture of
transparency and accountability in labour compliance and working conditions”.
Thus, the GMAC was the first association in the world to welcome a UN
monitoring programme by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to
inspect factories for compliance with national and international labour
requirements, later known as the “Cambodia model”. “No sector in any other
country that benefits from preferential access to the EU market has a
better record of cooperation with the ILO,” emphasises the GMAC.
GMAC urges EU to restore full EBA benefits
In addition, the GMAC has also supported the effective operation of
Cambodia’s Arbitration Council as well as other innovations in industrial
relations which have supported the development of a strong trade union
movement in our sectors. “The GMAC respects and supports the EU’s
engagement to improve its human rights policies. Unfortunately, summarily
pulling the rug from under the feet of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians
is not the way to proceed,” it adds.
The association therefore demands quick action by the EU to restore full
EBA benefits for the sake of “sustainable development and for the hundreds
of thousands of Cambodians who have risen from poverty to gain employment,
advance their rights and support their families.”
Otherwise, the GMAC expects the EU’s decision to cause “confusion” with
respect to Cambodia’s trade status and the loss of tens of thousands of
jobs when buyers decide to source from countries with lower tariffs and far
weaker legacies of trade union rights. “The decision will increase poverty
in our country and make it more difficult to improve wages and benefits for
other workers,” warns the association.
Photo: Think-Tank Mekong Future Initiative (MFI)
