"Cambodia hit with highest Trump tariff but manufacturing ‘absolutely not’ coming back to U.S., trade group says", 8 April 2025

Among the top goals for President Donald Trump and his administration in hitting trading partners with steep tariffs is bringing manufacturing capacity back to the U.S., even if it comes at the price of short-term market and economic duress…

While the 49% tariff rate that the Trump administration is placing on Cambodian goods will lead to an existential crisis for Cambodian factories and workers already at the low end of global income distribution, reshoring of its manufacturing to the U.S. is not going to happen, according to a trade group that represents U.S. interests in the retail manufacturing hub.

“They’re absolutely not going to go back to the United States,” said Casey Barnett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, the trade association representing U.S. companies manufacturing in Cambodia. “I can’t imagine that Americans want to sit down and sew a pair of sweatpants for long hours of the day,” Barnett said.

Barnett said manufacturers in Cambodia are looking at other countries to mitigate the tariffs, but the U.S. is not among the options. Some companies are looking to move their supply chains to Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, India and Indonesia.

… Cambodia’s prime minister sent a letter to the Trump administration in recent days outlining significant reductions in tariff rates for U.S. goods…

… Knit sweaters, as an example, could lose $548 million, according to Datawheel, posing a significant risk to Cambodia’s garment industry, its workforce, and overall economic stability.

Barnett echoed those fears, saying the tariff rates will only increase poverty in Cambodia, lead to the loss of jobs, and further widen the trade deficit…