The Office of the United States Trade Representative

United States, Cambodia Sign Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
07/14/2006

Washington – Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia and Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) today that will help enhance trade and investment between the two countries and provide a forum to address bilateral trade issues.

"We welcome Cambodia into our family of TIFA partners in Southeast Asia," said Ambassador Bhatia. " We look forward to building our trade and investment relations under this dialogue, working more closely on regional and WTO issues, and helping Cambodia fully implement its WTO obligations."

Under the TIFA, the two countries will consider ways to expand and liberalize trade and investment between the United States and Cambodia. They also will discuss such issues as intellectual property rights, trade facilitation and customs, and implementation of Cambodia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. In addition, the TIFA dialogue will provide a forum for closer cooperation on bilateral, regional and WTO issues.

The U.S. – Cambodia TIFA will advance President Bush’s Enterprise for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Initiative, which seeks to deepen U.S. economic and trade linkages with the commercially and strategically vital Southeast Asian region. The United States already has TIFAs with Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines and is negotiating a TIFA with ASEAN. In addition, the United States has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore and is negotiating FTAs with Malaysia and Thailand.

 

Background:

U.S. exports to Cambodia increased 18 percent to nearly $70 million in the past year and have increased steadily since Cambodia joined the WTO in October 2004. Major U.S. exports to Cambodia include automobiles, machinery, textile articles, and fats and oils. U.S. imports from Cambodia totaled $1.7 billion in 2005, comprised largely of knit and woven apparel and prepared meat and fish.

Cambodia is one of the ten members of ASEAN, whose 570 million people purchased over $ 50 billion in U.S. goods last year. Two-way trade between the United States and ASEAN has grown dramatically over the past decade, and in 2005 totaled $150 billion, making ASEAN America’s fourth-largest trading partner.

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