PHNOM PENH — Shorter contracts with fewer protections, job losses or resigning to look for work overseas. These are the bleak choices Cambodian factory workers and their union representatives say hundreds of thousands of people will probably face if the 49% tariff U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week is not cut dramatically.
People involved in the garment sector, which makes up about a third of Cambodia’s exports to the U.S., said the impact would not be immediate because brands typically place orders six to 12 months in advance. But they added that if production does move, Cambodian factories and workers would be devastated.
