July 10, 2025

The Khmer Democracy Movement (KMD) expresses its extreme alarm regarding the US administration’s imposition of a 36% tariff on Cambodian products, second highest rate imposed by the US effective August 1, 2025. This is no “victory” or cause for “self-pleasure,” as some within the Cambodian regime ludicrously claim. To the contrary, this crippling tariff is a direct threat, a potentially lethal blow to the livelihoods of nearly one million Cambodians working in the garment industry, and by extension, to the very survival of our nation.

1. A Crippling Disparity and Looming Job Exodus: This 36% tariff starkly contrasts with the significantly lower 20% tariff secured by Vietnam, a direct competitor in the garment sector. This disparity reveals a profound failure on the part of the current Cambodian leadership, a failure that, if left unaddressed, will inevitably lead to the transshipment of vital industries and jobs to Vietnam. With foreign buyers constantly seeking the cheapest deals, a 36% tariff makes Cambodian products prohibitively expensive, effectively blessing the exodus of our industries and the precious jobs they provide to our neighboring countries. This will further exacerbate the misery for our people, including those Cambodian migrants who, after calls from the regime to return home, will find themselves in a country with no jobs even for its current suffering residents.

The KMD insists that the following critical concerns, as previously highlighted, are urgently addressed:

2. Blocking China’s Trade Manipulation: The 36% tariff and the imminent 40% tariff on “transshipped” goods pose an existential threat given Cambodia’s deep reliance on Chinese raw materials and the regime’s established pattern of facilitating Chinese economic exploitation. The US must insist on absolute transparency and rigorous verification to ensure that only goods genuinely produced by Cambodian workers, not Chinese-owned front companies, receive fair treatment. Any trade deal must include stringent enforcement, but this cannot be achieved if the Cambodian regime continues to act as a covert Chinese delegation, undermining fair trade practices and enriching corrupt elites rather than the Cambodian people.
3. Dismantling the Cybercrime Industry: The multi-billion-dollar cybercrime industry operating within Cambodia, disproportionately targeting US entities and involving forced labor and Chinese triads, directly jeopardizes any legitimate trade relationship. As the FinCEN finding on Huione Group underscores, this illicit activity fuels money laundering and transnational crime. The US must demand decisive action to dismantle these networks and prosecute those involved, but this requires a regime committed to the rule of law and the protection of its citizens, not one where key figures are implicated in such activities.
4. Addressing the Erosion of Trust and Strategic Dishonesty: The transformation of Cambodia into a vassal state with a permanent Chinese military presence, exemplified by the demolition of US-funded facilities at Ream Naval Base to accommodate Chinese expansion and the opaque Funan Techo canal project, is a profound matter of distrust. This undermines the rule of law enshrined in Cambodia’s own constitution regarding neutrality and international agreements, which mandate transparent and honest adherence. A country that seeks to build strong, transparent, and honest links with all global powers cannot simultaneously operate with such disregard for established legal frameworks and strategic balance. The US must demand full transparency and an independent review of these projects.

While other nations harness the full intellectual, strategic, and human resources of their people, both domestically and abroad, the Cambodian regime tragically expends its energy chasing ghosts and manufacturing internal enemies. This is not about political maneuvering; this is about the lives of our people, their bread and butter, the food on the table for their children and their elderly. It is about the prospects of those migrant workers who yearn to return to a thriving Cambodia, about ending the pervasive cycle of debt enslavement, and about shaping a future where Cambodia is a developed industrial nation, not a pariah controlled by China or a single family.

This moment is about Cambodia’s very survival. The Khmer Democracy Movement stands ready, with its full capacity, to assist in forging a path towards a truly prosperous and sovereign Cambodia.