No trade war tariff evasion here, says China-backed Cambodian industrial park
- Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone says reports that firms in the area were investigated by US Customs for evading duties are false
A Chinese-backed special economic zone in Cambodia has rejected reports that firms operating in the industrial park have been fined by the United States for shipping goods through the Southeast Asian country to evade American tariffs.
The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, an industrial park in southern Cambodia funded and jointly run by Chinese investors, said on Thursday night that the 29 businesses in the zone that exported to the US had “not been investigated or punished by US Customs recently”.
“We deeply regret the damage to the reputation of the [zone] caused by the ... false reports,” it said in a statement on its website. “We have always insisted on the establishment and the administration of parks according to laws and regulations, and resolutely oppose any illegal activities.”
A representative of the zone declined to comment further.
Emily Zeeberg, spokeswoman for the US embassy in Phnom Penh, said on Friday that the Department of Homeland Security had “investigated and fined a number of companies for evading tariffs in the United States by routing goods through Cambodia”.
“These companies are located in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone,” she said in a statement. “Companies sometimes seek to avoid tariffs and pass through products to the United States via transshipment.”