"‘There’s no work now, just debt’: Cambodian garment workers face precarious future as US tariffs loom", 31 July 2025

Tens of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers who have fled Thailand since border tensions began were already facing an uncertain future. Now, as they re-enter a precarious job market braced for US tariffs, they are struggling to find work.

A 36% export tax imposed on Cambodia by US President Donald Trump is due to come into effect on 1 August..

The tariff is likely to put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk, particularly in Cambodia’s garment, footwear and travel goods (GFT) sector...

“We are talking about a substantial loss,” says Massimiliano Tropeano, a garment sector consultant and member of EuroCham Cambodia. “Factories supplying American brands will be substantially affected, with very little room to absorb the 36% added costs.”

He believes that up to 150,000 GFT jobs could be lost...

The US is the largest single-country buyer of GFT goods – in 2024, it accounted for more than $5.2bn (£39bn), or 38.5% of Cambodia’s GFT total export revenue...

Mu Sochua, an exiled Cambodian opposition politician and rights activist, says: “About 360,000 manufacturing workers [across all sectors] in Cambodia are directly dependent on US demand, many of whom risk losing their jobs if the tariffs remain in place.” She adds that with women making up more than 75% of the garment sector’s workforce, they will bear the brunt – with knock-on effects for entire households.

Industry observers warn the pressure will be felt most acutely by factory workers already stretched by long hours, minimal protections and stagnant pay...

“Once the US tariffs are enacted, it’s going to be very difficult for us at the factory, because there may be no more work,” she says. “I’ve already seen the bigger factories cutting back, closing at 4pm, with no overtime.”

Nearby competitors such as Vietnam and Indonesia have struck deals for 20% and 19% tariffs respectively, offering potential reshoring opportunities for manufacturers. Their extra advantage, according to Tropeano, lies in homegrown mills that reduce reliance on Chinese fabrics – something Cambodia lacks. US officials have accused Chinese companies – reported to own as much as 90% of Cambodia’s garment factories – of using the country as a trans-shipment hub to sidestep existing tariffs...

On the factory floor, the pressure is palpable.

At Trax Apparel in Phnom Penh, which exports 20% of its clothes to the US, Yorn Yeut, a union leader, says workers are anxious and echoes Samnang’s point that small or subcontracted factories with fewer benefits keep hiring due to fewer overheads, while many larger ones have already cut hours...