US urges Cambodia to help stop firms using special economic zone to evade China tariffs
- American embassy in Phnom Penh says companies have been caught using the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone to export goods that originated in China
The US has urged the Cambodian government to help crack down on companies using a Chinese-backed special economic zone to evade US tariffs.
The US embassy in Phnom Penh said there had been two cases since 2017 where US officials found companies operating in the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SEZ) – an industrial park funded and jointly run by Chinese investors – were shipping goods there to avoid US anti-dumping duties.
These products were found to have originated from China, and included glycine, a chemical compound used in food and pharmaceuticals, and steel pipe fittings.
“In both cases, US officials conducted on-site inspections in the Sihanoukville SEZ and determined that, although being represented as Cambodian, the goods in question were of Chinese origin on importation into the United States,” she said in a statement on Friday.