"Cambodia says responds to EU over human rights concern", 12 December 2019

Cambodia's government said … it had responded to the European Union over human rights and political concerns and urged the bloc to consider that nearly one million female workers would be affected if it suspended trade benefits.

The EU has threatened to suspend its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade scheme with Cambodia after a European Commission report found that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government has cracked down on the opposition, civil society groups and the media…

Cambodia's Foreign Ministry said the government had handed in its response.

The response is "a comprehensive report on the actions and measures undertaken by the Royal Government to respond to all the areas of concerns" by the EU, in particular with respect to the right to political participation, land rights, freedom of expression and freedom of association, the ministry said.

"The Royal Government expects that the European Commission will take into consideration the government's good faith efforts to implement all the relevant international conventions under the EBA regulations, …," the ministry said.

…, Hun Sen dismissed the threat by the EU to withdraw trade privileges, saying Britain's exit from the bloc will ease the pain of sanctions.

The European Union accounts for nearly half of Cambodia's exports, with Germany being the largest export market for Cambodia, taking roughly 11 percent of its goods, while Britain is the second largest, buying over 8 percent of goods from the Southeast Asian country, according to official data. Garments make up a large chunk of the exports…