Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the United States reached an impressive $13.147 billion throughout 2025, marking a substantial increase of 29.2 percent compared to the previous year, 2024. These robust figures were officially reported by the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia.
A closer examination of the trade relationship reveals that Cambodian exports to the American market played a significant role in this growth. From January to December 2025, Cambodia’s exports stood at $12.730 billion, demonstrating a healthy rise of 28.5 percent. Concurrently, imports from the United States to Cambodia also saw a notable increase, reaching $417 million, which represents a remarkable 57.8 percent surge over the 2024 figures.
These consistent trade volumes underscore Cambodia’s continued strong position in the US market, particularly for its key export categories such as garments, textiles, footwear, and various travel goods. According to Mr. Pen Sovicheat, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, the successful maintenance of this vital US market can be largely attributed to effective bilateral trade negotiations. These discussions led to a successful agreement on counter-tariffs, set at a 19 percent rate. The Ministry of Commerce has also diligently enforced strict rules of origin for all goods exported to the United States. During the annual trade work summary meeting on January 8, Mr. Pen Sovicheat further elaborated that these regulations are primarily managed through the issuance of a Certificate of Origin (OCL) for 120 specific Cambodian products identified as having significant export potential to the US market.
As of early 2026, Cambodia has been operating under the 19 percent counter-tariff imposed by the United States for approximately five months. Despite this, Cambodia has managed to sustain its export growth to global markets. However, the Kingdom is actively engaged in ongoing negotiations with the United States, seeking to further reduce tariff rates for several priority sectors to levels below the current 19 percent. At the closing ceremony of the Ministry of Commerce’s annual meeting on the afternoon of January 9, Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, who also serves as the First Vice President of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), reiterated this commitment. He stated, “We will continue to negotiate with the United States to secure additional counter-tariff reductions on products within the crucial garment, footwear, and travel goods sectors.”
Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol expressed optimism regarding the prospects of achieving tariff rates lower than 19 percent for these key export products to the US market. His confidence stems from the fact that the United States is not a primary producer of goods in these specific sectors. He emphasized, “We continue to engage in discussions with the American side to further reduce the counter-tariff from 19 percent. Achieving a zero percent rate would be ideal, as the United States does not have significant manufacturing in these industries. We do not believe the United States manufactures bags or cuts garments. Therefore, in these sectors, we are actively urging the United States to review and consider reducing this counter-tariff rate.”
Providing crucial context to these developments, it was noted that on August 1, 2025, Cambodia implemented a zero percent (0%) customs tariff on goods originating from and imported from the United States. This move coincided with the United States reducing its own counter-tariff rate on certain Cambodian products from an initial 49 percent down to the currently applied 19 percent.
