Tax-Free Trade Access Will Stay, Says EU

2 August 2011
The Cambodia Daily
Agricultural production / Agriculture and fishing / Aid and development / Bilateral development assistance / Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members / Economic land concessions and plantations / Economy and commerce / European Union aid / Human rights / Social development / Sugar
Cambodia / Cecilia Wikstrom / Duty-Free / EBA / EU / European Commission / European Union aid / Everything But Arms program / Heng San / Human Rights / Koh Kong Province / Kompong Speu Province / land / Land evictions / Ly Yong Phat / Mao Thora / Ministry of Commerce / Oddor Meanchey Province / Rafael Dochao Moreno / Sugar Companies / Trade benefits

The European Union has said that it has no plans to suspend Cambodia’s duty-free trade access even though there have been concerns over land evictions as a result of economic land concessions. The EU is seeking that human rights are not the cost of trade benefits, this was in conjunction to the Everything But Arms (EBA) program which Cambodia is a part of. One of the main issues is the land disputes villagers have with Ly Yong Phat and his sugar companies in Koh Kong, Kompong Speu and Oddor Meanchey provincies. (By Hul Reaksmey, pg. 26)