On 20 January 2025, Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce and UNDP organized a workshop and panel discussion on Assessment and Roadmap Development for Green Trade Standard, Rules of Origin, and Double Transformation to explore ways to promote sustainable trade practices, enhance competitiveness, and sustain market access for Cambodian exports to the EU.
As Cambodia prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2029, the country will need to fully comply with WTO regulations and the rules and standards of its export markets. To support this transition, UNDP is working with the Ministry of Commerce to develop a Roadmap for Green Trade Standards, Rules of Origin, and Double Transformation to sustain market access for Cambodian exports to the EU. The assessment and roadmap will serve as a key input for the Smooth Transition Strategy for LDC graduation expected in 2029 and the new Trade Policy Framework 2030 under preparation by the Cambodian Government.
As the UNDP-appointed Green Trade Expert, JCI Head Prof Shandre Mugan Thangavelu provided the keynote lecture and also moderated a panel discussion.
In his keynote lecture, Prof Shandre points out that the Cambodian economy has been one of the fastest growing in ASEAN with an average annual growth of 7-8% over the last decade. However, there are concerns over Cambodia’s economic performance as it prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2029.
Prof Shandre stressed the need to capture dynamic gains by aligning domestic and regional policies. A key step for this strategy would be recognizing the European Union’s role as an important trading partner for Cambodia. In 2023, the EU ranked as Cambodia's fourth-biggest trade partner, accounting for 8.2% of the country’s total trade (with China at 25.8%, the United States at 19.3%, and Vietnam at 13.9%). Cambodia was the EU’s 65th largest trading partner (accounting for 0.1% of the EU’s total trade). Cambodia’s LDC graduation would however lose its duty-free access to the EU market along with other significant ripple effects. As such, there is an urgent need to pursue national green growth strategies and adopt green technologies to remain competitive for the EU market. Securing multilateral free trade agreements with the EU is also critical to increase market access.
In order to do so, Prof Shandre explains that the country’s roadmap for green economy and trade must: (i) strengthen institutional capacity of the responsible intergovernmental body; (ii) promote compliance with EU green standards throughout the supply chain; (iii) foster collaboration with other agencies, development partners and the private sector; and (iv) explore and implement innovative solutions such as digitalisation and green supply chains.
