Officials at the opening of the “Rules of Origin of Goods for the Private Sector” training course at the National Customs School. GDCE
Cambodia is a signatory to 10 free trade agreements (FTA) which cost the Kingdom over $400 million in lost tax revenue each year.
This is nonetheless recovered by the growth of investment and export markets, said the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE).
The GDCE explained that the implementation of bilateral or multilateral trade agreements means many goods are exempt from tariffs. When the agreements came into effect, Cambodia's exports to partner countries were tax-free while many importing goods were also tax-exempt.
The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are pushing for increases in both production and processing, as more exports than imports will stimulate economic growth.
The 10 FTAs are the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreements (ATIGA), ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA), ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA), ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA), Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) and Cambodia-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA).
Addressing the opening of the “Rules of Origin of Goods for the Private Sector” training course at the National Customs School, GDCE deputy director-general Se Sokhorn said Cambodia had also completed negotiations with the United Arab Emirates, and is currently in talks with more nations.
