In 1994, Cambodia applied for membership of the WTO. Following the Doha Declaration of November 2001 that eased membership conditions for least developed counties, Cambodia’s membership was finally approved in September 2003 at the Cancun Ministerial Conference. However, membership did not become effective until a year later because an internal political deadlock in Cambodia after the July 2003 elections delayed ratification.

Some Cambodian policy players were surprised by approval of Cambodia’s membership of the WTO, as negotiations had been conducted without the active participation of stakeholders. There was neither comprehensive research nor public debate on the costs and benefits of joining. According to a survey done by the Economic Institute of Cambodia just days after this approval, more than half of Cambodians living in Phnom Penh, the capital, had never heard of the WTO.(1) None of the country’s parliamentarians knew about the substance of the negotiations. The government was expected to reveal detailed agreements with the WTO at the ratification debate in the National Assembly. Critics say that Cambodia has just thrown itself in at the deep end by becoming a member of the WTO.

With an estimated average per capita income of US$300, Cambodia is the poorest and least developed country in the east Asian region, and one of the poorest in the world. Since its emergence from war and upheaval, Cambodia has been very keen for economic recovery, to integrate itself into the world community by means of internal reforms. Though initial reforms have produced some positive results, the country is still plagued with major socio-economic problems. Its engine of growth for the past few years — the garment industry — is facing uncertainty and is looking towards the WTO for solutions. More...