Concluding remarks by the Chairperson

The first Trade Policy Review of Cambodia has given us a much better understanding of recent developments in its trade and trade-related policies and practices together with the challenges it faces. We are grateful for the active participation of the Cambodian delegation headed by H.E. Mr Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister and Minister at the Ministry of Commerce. I would also like to thank the discussant, Ambassador Mr Yi Xiaozhun of China, and Members of the TPRB for contributing to our fruitful exchange of views. Cambodia’s detailed responses to the many questions posed by Members is also appreciated.

Members commended Cambodia for the solid economic performance achieved during the period under review, which had allowed per capita income to more than double while the poverty rate has fallen from 35% of the population to 26% over the period.  Members congratulated Cambodia for having successfully emerged from the global economic crisis, while refraining from adopting trade protectionist measures. 

Members acknowledged the relative openness of Cambodia’s economy, as evidenced by a trade-to-GDP ratio of about 65%. They also noted that exports account for a large proportion of employment growth and that trade policy is an integral part of Cambodia’s efforts to promote development and improve living standards.  However, concerns were expressed about reliance on a few export products and markets and Members therefore urged Cambodia to step up its efforts to diversify its export basket and seek new markets in order to limit its exposure to external shocks.

Members noted that Cambodia had made good use of its WTO membership to further its integration into the world economy, reflected in the country’s active participation in the Doha Development Agenda as well as its regional co-operation efforts with its Asian neighbours. Members called upon developed Members to provide duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) market access to Cambodia and other LDCs on products of export interest to them. 

Members expressed their satisfaction that Cambodia had simplified its tariff structure, bound 100% of tariff lines and recently had made efforts to ensure that its applied rates remain below bound rates and that Cambodia was also reducing dependence on trade-related taxes by starting to strengthen their domestic revenue base. Members appreciated Cambodia’s continued commitment to fully implementing the agreements on Customs Valuation, TRIPs, TBT and SPS and acknowledged the steps taken by Cambodia to promote good governance through judicial and legal reforms and create a more transparent and predictable business environment to help attract investment.  At the same time, Members noted that there is still significant work to do in improving the business environment and addressing infrastructure bottlenecks.

From a close examination of the observations made by delegations during this Review, it appears to me that the Cambodian authorities might consider introducing further action or improvements  in certain areas.  I note from the Minister’s concluding statement that action is already being taken in several of these areas: 

— Improving the business framework: Members encouraged Cambodia to continue strengthening its trade and investment environment through further regulatory and legislative reform and addressing issues of weak institutional capacity.  

— Customs reform: While encouraged by Cambodia’s efforts in the area of customs reform including enactment of the 2007 Customs Law, Members encouraged Cambodia to make Camcontrol import requirements more transparent.

— Government procurement:  While recognizing steps taken in this area such as the preparation of a preliminary draft procurement law, Cambodia was encouraged to focus attention on provisions related to transparency and access to information about tendering.

— Standards: There was appreciation for Cambodia’s efforts in complying with WTO requirements on standardisation.

— SPS requirements: Cambodia was encouraged to better organize the inspection and certification of products, address problems regarding full compliance with the SPS Agreement including notification requirements and shed more light on the methodology Cambodia was using as the basis for its risk assessments. 

— TRIPs:  Members welcomed developments in introducing a number of IPR-related laws and inter-agency coordination of Cambodia’s IPR policy, and were interested to learn about Cambodia’s actions for implementing TRIPs by July 2013, including progress made towards completing the process of granting patents.

— Export diversification: Members appreciated that Cambodia was diversifying it range of exports and was currently focusing on increasing paddy rice production and expanding exports of milled rice for which improvements in infrastructure and productivity were needed.

In conclusion, I believe that this Review has given us a comprehensive update on the trade regime of Cambodia.  Cambodia has been encouraged to pursue its regulatory and legal reforms and to further adhere to WTO rules with a view to enhancing the transparency of its trade regime and thus contribute to attracting foreign investment.  I recommend that Members support Cambodia in its continuing efforts by providing further market access to its goods and services and by responding to Cambodia’s needs for technical assistance and expertise.