Since July 24, a new US tariff regime has governed trade with 60 economies, from Brazil to Vietnam to the European Union. For Cambodia, the verdict is almost unexpectedly good: Phnom Penh avoids the heaviest rate and finds itself, for once, better treated than its main regional textile rivals. But the tariff relief does not dissolve a far older structural problem — the kingdom's near-total dependence on Chinese fabric.

U.S. tariffs, LDC graduation, heat stress: in Phnom Penh, the GFT sector is seeking answers to mounting pressures that are becoming dangerously cumulative.

The garments, footwear, and travel goods (GFT) sector generated nearly $1.4 billion in exports in January in Cambodia, according to an official report from the Ministry of Commerce released on Friday. This figure, which precisely reaches $1.398 billion, marks a 7.2% increase compared to January 2025, confirming the sector's driving role in the kingdom's economy.

The Cambodian garment, footwear, and travel goods (GFT) sector reached a new milestone in 2025, recording exports worth US$15.7 billion, a remarkable 15.8% increase compared to the previous year, according to official figures from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.

Cambodia has quietly carved out a place for itself in the global garment, footwear, and travel goods (GFT) industry. Once a modest player, the kingdom is now the world's 15th largest exporter of GFT and the third largest in ASEAN, with a remarkable turnover of US$13.6 billion in 2024.

A report by the Ministry of Commerce revealed that Cambodia’s export of GTF goods in the first half of 2024 reached a value of 6.2 billion U