Cambodian Workers Fear Losing Jobs Amid U.S. Tariff Threat

TaiwanPlus News

Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced upcoming visits to Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia as U.S. trade pressures loom over the region. Cambodia received the highest tariffs of 49% during Donald Trump's initial announcement. Though the levy has been postponed for 90 days, factory workers fear they will lose their livelihoods. With the U.S. as Cambodia's top export market, accounting for 40% of its goods, the stakes are high as workers hope for negotiations that might save their jobs.

Transcript

00:00In Phnom Penh's busy streets, Nam Lung grabs sweet potatoes on her way to work at a factory

00:07for American clothing brand Levi's. It's one of two jobs she works to support herself and her

00:13sister, jobs she fears could vanish under new U.S. tariffs.

00:20If there's no negotiations to remove these tariffs, it'll be hard for investors to keep

00:24their factories here. If they shut it down, we'll lose our jobs, which will be a big problem for me.

00:30Among Donald Trump's tariffs announced last week, Cambodia received the most punishing of all,

00:36a 49 percent tax on goods it exports to the U.S. The U.S. is Cambodia's largest export destination,

00:44accounting for 40 percent of its total exports. The tariff has been postponed for 90 days,

00:50but that's little comfort to workers like Nam Lung.

00:53My sister here is sick. She can't work, so she lives with me. If I have no work,

01:00no income, then I die. And she dies too.

01:04At the factory, she makes about 300 U.S. dollars a month. But she says it's not enough to support

01:10herself and her family. At night, she works a second job at a beauty salon.

01:15And as U.S. tariffs shake Southeast Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping is stepping in,

01:23announcing today that he will make state visits to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

01:29Beijing's attention may seem like a lifeline to workers like Nam Lung, who just want to work.

01:34I strongly appeal to our government to negotiate with rich countries like the U.S.

01:40on ending the tariffs so that investors will stay in Cambodia, which will save our jobs.

01:45For now, Nam Lung continues working, day and night, hoping that someone is listening.

01:53Alex Chun, Izzy Wells, and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.

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