US tariffs are delaying progress on working conditions while border tensions with Thailand jeopardise the informal economy
After conquering Cambodia in the 19th century, imperial France signed a 1904 treaty with the kingdom of Siam delineating their border. But the map produced in 1907 by French surveyors was seen as deviating from the agreement and later contested by Thailand.
“We find ourselves in the position of a sort of a hostage scenario that we’re caught up in between dependencies on two contending powers,” said Yang Sophorn, president of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions.
