‘Cambodia-US trade talks round three in near future’

The third round of talks over the reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Cambodia in April, will start in near future, the Royal Government Spokesperson Unit said on Saturday evening following the successful completion of the second round of talks.

The Ad Hoc Cambodia-US Bilateral Relations Coordination Working Group and the Office of the US Trade Representative concluded the second round of negotiations on the draft Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), reaching a consensus on several substantial provisions.

A statement issued by the Royal Government Spokesperson on Saturday said the talks took place between June 4-6, 2025, in Washington, DC, which saw both sides exchanging views. “The Cambodian side and the US side discussed the draft agreement with great mutual understanding.”

The Cambodian delegation was led by Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, and Cham Nimul, Minister of Commerce.

Sarah Ellerman, Assistant US Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, headed the American side.

Both parties have agreed to convene a third round of negotiations shortly, also in Washington, DC, the statement noted.

Last month, the Ministry of Commerce urged exporters of various goods to the US from the Kingdom to obtain ‘Origin Certification Letter’ following the issuance of an Inter-Ministerial Prakas on Prevention Measures of Origin Frauds for Exports of Certain Goods to the United States.

“The prakas aim to prevent origin frauds and to strengthen the transparent enforcement of Laws on Rules of Origin for the exports of certain goods to the US market,” a statement issued by the ministry said.

“Producers and exporters are not required to pay public service fees when applying for the Origin Certification Letter,” the statement further said.

“All producers and exporters targeting the US market are urged to take due note of this information and to implement it with utmost diligence,” the statement added.

Speaking at a recent webinar attended by Khmer Times, Dr Jayant Menon, a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute) in Singapore and formerly Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist at Asian Development Bank, expressed doubts over the completion of tariff talks in 90 days – the pause period that will end by July 9, 2025.

“It is unlikely that negotiations with countries facing Trump tariffs would conclude in 90 days. The pause was announced on April 9 to avert a potential meltdown in US bond market.

“The development suggests that this may be the first of many longer pauses to come, apart from various twists and turns.”

Jayant said the pause was not driven by the desire to negotiate, but the opportunity to do so has now presented itself.

“The negotiations are similar to that of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between countries. Can an FTA be concluded in 90 days? I would say it’s impossible as we have seen FTA talks between countries stretching for years.”

Source: Khmer Times