Interesting data on clothing exports. The top ten exporters in 2018 (by value):
1. China: $158 billion
2. Bangladesh: $33 billion
3. Vietnam: $28 billion
4. Italy: $25 billion
5. Germany: $24 billion
6. India: $17 billion
7. Turkey: $16 billion
8. Spain: $15 billion
9. Hong Kong, China: $14 billion
10. France: $13 billion

Source: https://howmuch.net/articles/world-map-clothing-exports

Oh, and the average US citizen buys a new piece of apparel every 3 days (pair of socks counts as two pieces but pair of trousers as one!)

EU sanctions loom; brands urge Cambodian reform
Reuters, PHNOM PENH
Sun, Jan 26 2020
Global clothing and shoe brands, including Adidas AG, Puma AG and Levi Strauss & Co have written again to Cambodia’s longtime leader saying the country’s record on labor and human rights threatens to bring down sanctions on its crucial garment industry.

The letter urges the government of Cambodian Prime Minister HE to amend a trade union law, repeal the law on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and drop all outstanding criminal charges against union leaders.

“The credibility of Cambodia’s apparel, footwear, and travel goods sectors are at stake,” said the letter, seen by Reuters.

“We are concerned that the labor and human rights situation in Cambodia is risking the loss of trade preferences for Cambodia,” they added.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on Friday.

Labor Ministry spokesman Heng Sour said he had not seen the letter, but said it “might contain the same out of date concerns that we have already addressed according to the Cambodian law and legal process.”

The EU is to decide next month whether to strip Cambodia of its “Everything But Arms (EBA)” initiative after a European Commission report found that HE’s government has cracked down on the opposition, civil society groups and the media.

The EU accounts for nearly half of Cambodia’s exports, the country’s largest industry, which employs about 700,000 people and accounts for 40 percent of GDP.

The letter, sent to HE on Wednesday, represents major apparel and footwear companies, including Adidas, Levis Strauss, New Balance Athletics Inc, Puma, Ralph Lauren Corp, Under Armour Inc, VF Corp and American Apparel & Footwear Association.
http://taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archive ... 2003729850

A stinging reply from the Cambodian government dismisses the allegations of labor and human rights abuses as out of date, and claims that Cambodia as a country has the best factory workers' conditions in the region.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... -complaint

The deadline is tomorrow:

EU to suspend some of Cambodia trade benefits over human rights
Cambodia is preparing for suspension of some its Everything But Arms trade privileges after opposition crackdown.
by Leonie Kijewski
2 hours ago

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Cambodia's government is preparing for the European Union to partially and temporarily remove the country's Everything But Arms (EBA) trade privileges on Wednesday, in the wake of a 2018 political crackdown.

The EU warned Cambodia last February it would withdraw the scheme unless it made more effort to improve the human rights situation. The deadline for a decision is February 12.

Ministry of Economy and Finance spokesman Meas Soksensan told Al Jazeera that although his ministry had not officially been informed of the decision by the EU, the government was preparing for partial suspension.

"Unofficially we heard … that there must be partial suspension of EBA," he said.

The European Parliament and Council could still object to any decision, but if approved, it will come into effect on August 12. Both bodies have indicated they want the commission to take a tougher approach to Cambodia's human rights violations.

If the EU does follow through on its warnings and suspend Cambodia's EBA arrangements, it would mark the first time it has done so.
Full article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/ ... 46981.html

Fashion brands weigh Cambodia strategy after EU curbs trade
H&M, Adidas and others assess cost of suspended duty-free access
SHAUN TURTON, Contributing writer
February 14, 2020 21:33 JST
PHNOM PENH -- Stripped of some of its European trade privileges, Cambodia is bracing for an economic hit as major brands such as H&M review their production in the country.

The European Commission on Wednesday announced it would suspend duty-free access for 40 products from Cambodia, equal to about 20% of the country's exports to the bloc, or some 1.1 billion euros ($1.19 billion).

The decision followed the EU's 12-month review of Cambodia's eligibility for its Everything But Arms scheme, which grants developing countries duty-free access for all exports except weapons and ammunition.

In moving to reinstate regular tariffs on some clothing, footwear and travel goods, EU officials said Cambodia had violated the human and labor rights provisions of the scheme.

They pointed to government oppression of political opponents and independent media as being among "systematic" breaches, giving the commission "no choice" but to adopt the partial sanction.

The tariffs -- 12% for clothes and up to 17% for some footwear -- will take effect on Aug. 12 unless the European Parliament and Council object within two months, or four months should an extension be sought.

Barring this, economists expect higher export costs will see some textile production shifted away from the country's vital apparel industry. The sector directly employs more than 750,000 workers and generated some $9.5 billion in exports last year -- equal to more than a third of gross domestic product.

Already, Swedish giant H&M -- which sources from factories in Cambodia employing about 77,000 workers -- has signaled changes to its supply chain. In a statement, the company said the partial EBA withdrawal would constrain the competitiveness of Cambodia's textile sector.

"It will negatively affect future investments, as well as predictability and trust, two crucially important elements of a well-functioning industry," the company wrote.

"H&M Group wants to continue to play a part in developing Cambodia in a positive way, including reducing poverty and strengthening human rights. However, due to a lack of adequate initiatives in developing the Cambodian textile industry, and a partial withdrawal of the EBA privileges, we will now further evaluate how the EU's decision will impact our business and production strategy in Cambodia."

Stefan Pursche, a spokesperson for Germany's Adidas, which sources 22% of its textiles from Cambodia -- its largest production base for such products -- said the company was reviewing the implications of the EU's decision.

Prior to Wednesday's announcement, 20 international clothing companies, including Esprit, Levi Strauss, and VF Corporation, expressed concern about Cambodia's trajectory in a joint letter sent via the American Apparel & Footwear Association.

Discussing the EU's decision, the association's senior vice president of policy Nate Herman said, on top of increased production costs, it would also "hit the country's reputation."

"We are strongly concerned with the labor rights situation in the country, and the potential adverse impact the loss of these preferences could have on Cambodia's workers and economy," Herman said.

Europe is a crucial market for Cambodia, receiving 45% of its exports in 2018. In the first 11 months of last year, Cambodia's total exports to the EU totaled 5.2 billion euros. Of these, almost 90% were apparel, footwear or travel goods.

A joint statement endorsed by 20 Cambodian business associations, including the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia expressed "regret" over the EU's decision.

The groups estimated the cost of producing the targeted goods would rise by $140 million, saying government reforms underway could help offset the increase, particularly if combined with government stimulus.

"We have full trust in the resilience of the Cambodian people, and are committed to working with those most affected by this decision to mitigate the potential damage to trade and investment, and the Kingdom's reputation," the statement read. "We will continue to work closely with international brands and development partners to strengthen and promote the values of human and labor rights in Cambodia, in accordance with international best practices."

The partial sanction comes at an already troubled time for Cambodia's economy, which for years has experienced annual growth of around 7%.

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to deal a blow to the country's tourism sector, which is heavily dependent on Chinese visitors and accounts for nearly 20% of GDP.

The virus has also begun impacting Cambodia's garment industry, which relies on China for raw materials. Factory suspensions affecting some 7,000 workers have already been reported, with disruptions expected to worsen should the outbreak spread.

In a brief, Capital Economics Asia economist Alex Holmes said the hit to the economy by the new tariffs was set to be around 2% of GDP.

"Most immediately, this is likely to hit foreign direct investment, and some firms are likely to shift existing production out of the country," he said. "When the tariff changes come into effect, they are set to hit exports hard."

Economist Intelligence Unit analyst Fei Xue said Cambodia's increasing exports to the U.S. would help limit the impact of the new tariffs on overall economic growth.

The fact that the suspension excluded "more profitable" high added-value garments and footwear products, as well as the fast-growing bicycle manufacturing sector, would also cushion the blow, Xue added.

But with labor costs increasing, Xue said garment manufacturers with "thin profit margins" would be "squeezed out" of Cambodia by the higher export costs.

"Minimum monthly wage in the garment and footwear sectors increases to $187 in 2020, approaching the wage levels in Vietnam and far higher than those in Bangladesh," Xue said.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Busine ... urbs-trade

Opinion piece
The EU’s Values Based Foreign Policy: The Case Of Cambodia – OpEd
March 9, 2020 EU-Asia Centre

By EU-Asia Centre
By Antti Tulonen

In February, the EU partially withdrew the tariff preferences for Cambodia under its ‘Everything but Arms’ (EBA) trading scheme due to systematic human rights violations. The Commission had deliberated the withdrawal for a year after Cambodia’s Prime Minister of the last 35 years, HE, banned the only viable opposition party in the country and prosecuted its leadership. The economic consequences for Cambodia as the largest beneficiary of EBA are predicted to be dire – approximately a 3% reduction of GDP growth according to the IMF. To the ire of Cambodia, the EU barely reacted when the Thailand banned a major opposition party and rewarded the authoritarian regime in Vietnam with an FTA. There were widespread charges of EU hypocrisy and inconsistency. But arguably there is a strategic calculus behind the EU’s application of sanctions for human rights violations that can be distilled from its recent actions.

Considering the origins of the Cambodia’s current predicament in dissolution (and prosecution) of a political party, the reaction of the EU to the decision of Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolving the Future Forward opposition party, and banning 16 of its leaders from politics for 10 years, is of particular interest. While the EU press release deemed the act “a set-back for political pluralism” in Thailand, it also re-iterated the EU Foreign Affairs Council conclusion from October 2019 that the EU stands ready to broaden its engagement, including in democratic pluralism, in preparation for future partnership and free trade agreements.

Full article: https://www.eurasiareview.com/09032020- ... odia-oped/