Phnom penh: The United Kingdom has announced that it will not impose tariffs on imported goods such as clothing, electronics, and other products from Cambodia, according to a press release from the British Embassy in Cambodia issued early this week.
According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, British consumers and businesses are set to benefit from a package of new trade measures, which will simplify imports from developing countries, helping to lower prices on everyday goods while supporting jobs and growth in some of the world's poorest nations. Upgrades include simplified rules of origin, enabling more goods from countries like Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines to enter the UK tariff-free, even when using components from across Asia and Africa. They also ensure countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia continue to benefit with zero tariffs on products like garments and electronics.
The UK's new preferential tariff measures are an additional preferential system on the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which was launched in 2023 after Brexit. Cambodia is also currently receiving trade preferences under this scheme. Launched in 2023, following the UK's exit from the EU, DCTS is the UK's flagship trade preference scheme, covering 65 countries and offering reduced or zero tariffs on thousands of products.
Minister for International Development H.E. Jenny Chapman stated that countries in the Global South want a different relationship with the UK as a trading partner and investor, not as a donor. 'These new rules will make it easier for developing countries to trade more closely with the UK. This is good for their economies and for UK consumers and businesses,' she said in the statement.
The UK is Cambodia's seventh largest export market, following the United States, Vietnam, China, Japan, Canada, Indonesia, Germany, and Spain. Bilateral trade between the two countries was recorded at approximately US$515 million in the first six months of 2025, up 13.2 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a report from the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia. Cambodia exported US$489 million worth of products to the UK, marking a year-on-year increase of 14.7 percent.