Brands like Nike, Adidas, and Levi Strauss have expressed concern over the labor and human rights situation in Cambodia. They want the garment sector in Cambodia to adopt labor standards set by the International Labor Organisation. The European Union has voiced similar concerns. In February, the European Commission launched the process that could lead to the suspension of Cambodia’s preferential access to the European Union market under the Everything But Arms trade scheme. The EU is concerned about democratic setbacks in the country, including the dissolution of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, in 2017. In January, US senators introduced the Cambodian Trade Act of 2019, which would require the US to review the preferential trade treatment Cambodia receives under the Generalised System of Preferences scheme.

Exports of garments, footwear, and travel goods account for more than one-third of Cambodia’s total gross domestic product. The country has about 1,200 garment and footwear factories, employing approximately 8,00,000 Cambodians – 80 per cent of whom are women. Cambodia pays the fifth highest minimum wage in Asean. The number of underage workers in the garment sector has seen a sharp decline, from 74 cases in 2014 to 10 cases as of last year.