Cambodia US tariff rises to 12.2%

Cambodia US tariff rises to 12.2%

AMRO warns that despite the latest tariff adjustments, uncertainty surrounding US trade policy remains high.

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) Tuesday reported that Cambodia’s estimated effective tariff on exports to the United States rose from 11.6 percent to 12.2 percent following the latest Section 301 tariff measures, placing the Kingdom below Vietnam and Thailand.

According to AMRO’s updated ASEAN+3 Tariff Exposure Dashboard, Cambodia’s trade-weighted effective tariff increased by 0.6 percentage points from 11.6 percent recorded on February 21 to 12.2 percent as of July 24.

Among Cambodia’s neighbouring manufacturing economies, Vietnam’s estimated effective tariff rose by 1.2 percentage points from 11.4 percent to 12.6 percent, while Thailand’s increased by 1.0 percentage point from 12.9 percent to 13.9 percent over the same period.

AMRO noted that the latest update reflected the new Section 301 tariffs announced by the United States on July 23, together with expanded product exemptions that moderated the overall impact on the region.

According to the dashboard, the ASEAN+3 region’s estimated effective tariff increased from 12.5 percent to 13.4 percent, an increase of less than one percentage point.

Within ASEAN, the average estimated effective tariff rose from 10.2 percent to 11.1 percent. Cambodia’s estimated effective tariff stands above the ASEAN average but below the latest rates for Vietnam and Thailand.

“Overall, the region’s estimated effective tariff rises by less than one percentage point,” AMRO said in its accompanying update. “But not all economies face an increase. Expanded exemptions limit the impact, with estimated rates for Japan and Indonesia declining slightly.”

The regional surveillance office also noted that Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR and Myanmar no longer face economy-wide tariffs, although sectoral tariffs continue to apply to products covered by separate US trade measures.

AMRO cautioned that uncertainty surrounding US trade policy remains elevated despite the latest tariff update. “Separate Section 301 investigations into industrial excess capacity are ongoing and could lead to further tariff changes,” the report said.

The dashboard tracks the cumulative impact of successive US tariff measures on ASEAN+3 economies by estimating the trade-weighted tariff applied to exports to the United States.

Its calculations are based on each economy’s 2024 export composition and incorporate applicable US tariffs at the Harmonized System (HS) four-digit and six-digit product levels, together with sector-specific measures and updated exemption lists.

AMRO noted that the methodology estimates the effective tariff faced by exports rather than the statutory tariff announced under individual US trade actions. The effective tariff is calculated by combining applicable tariffs across different product categories and weighting them according to each economy’s export structure.

The dashboard also enabled policymakers, businesses and researchers to compare tariff exposure across ASEAN+3 economies, monitor changes over time and assess the relative importance of the US market for individual economies.

According to AMRO, trade-weighted estimates exclude certain exemptions where official US measures do not specify precise HS codes. In such cases, the closest corresponding product categories are used in the calculations.

The latest update illustrated that while recent Section 301 measures increased the region’s overall tariff exposure, the impact varied across economies depending on export composition and the scope of applicable exemptions.

Japan and Indonesia were among the economies that recorded slight declines in their estimated effective tariff rates because expanded exemptions offset part of the impact of the new tariff measures.

AMRO said that the dashboard will continue to be updated as additional US tariff measures or exemption announcements become available, providing policymakers, businesses and researchers with an ongoing reference for assessing changes in tariff exposure across the ASEAN+3 region.

For Cambodia, the latest estimates showed that its effective tariff dropped below Vietnam following the latest US trade measures. However, AMRO noted that ongoing Section 301 investigations into industrial excess capacity could still reshape the tariff landscape and result in further changes affecting exporters across the region.

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