,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #acgf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #bf1 #bjai 
,mr4 ,lowenthal 7for himself and ,mr4   
,chabot7 introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,ways and ,means  ,a ,,bill  ,to require
 a report on the continuing             
participation of ,cambodia in the       
,generalized ,system of ,preferences4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,cambodia ,trade ,act of #bjai4 
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3  7#a7 ,prime ,minister ,hun  
,sen has been in power in ,cambodia     
since #aihe and is the longest-serving  
leader in ,southeast ,asia4  7#b7 ,the  
,paris ,peace ,accords in #aiia provided
 a vital framework1 supported by the    
,united ,states1 ,european ,union1 and  
,japan1 intended to help ,cambodia      
undertake a transition to democracy1    
including through elections and         
multiparty democracy4  7#c7 ,for more   
than #be years1 the ,united ,states     

,government has provided hundreds of    
millions of dollars in development aid  
and other types of assistance to the    
people of ,cambodia1 including          
preferential trade treatment4  7#d7 ,in 
#aiig1 the ,united ,states included     
,cambodia in the ,generalized ,system of
 ,preferences 7,,gsp7 program1 which    
extends specialized duty-free exports to
 developing nations4  7#e7 ,the ,trade  
,act of #aigd establishes conditions of 
eligibility for inclusion in ,,gsp1     
including whether or not other major    
developed countries are extending       
generalized preferential tariff         
treatment to such country1 and whether  
or not such country has taken or is     
taking steps to afford to workers in    
that country 7including any designated  
zone in that country7 internationally   
recognized worker rights4  7#f7 ,the two
 sectors in ,cambodia's economy that    
benefits from ,,gsp are garment and     
handbag production4 ,the garment        
industry is the largest employer in     

,cambodia's economy and accounts for    
nearly half of gross domestic product   
growth4 ,the sector employs more than   
#gjj1jjj ,cambodians1 most of whom are  
women4 ,in #bjah1 ,human ,rights ,watch 
warned that these women are often       
subjected to forced overtime and        
pregnancy-based discrimination1 and     
denied paid maternity leave4  7#g7 ,in  
#bjae1 ,human ,rights ,watch released a 
broader study on the garment sector in  
,cambodia with the following finding3   
,labor rights abuses include forced     
overtime and retaliation against those  
who sought exemption from overtime1 lack
 of rest breaks1 denial of sick leave1  
use of underage child labor1 and the use
 of union-busting strategies to thwart  
independent unions44  7#h7 ,in ,october 
#bjag1 the ,office of the ,united       
,states ,trade ,representative 7,,ustr7 
announced a new triennial process to    
assess ,,gsp beneficiary country        
eligibility4 ,the first assessment      
period covered #be ,asian and ,pacific  

,island ,,gsp beneficiary countries4    
,for each such country1 ,,ustr and other
 ,united ,states ,government agencies   
examined the country's policies and     
practices related to each of the #ae    
eligibility criteria established by     
,congress1 including respecting arbitral
 awards in favor of ,united ,states     
citizens or corporations1 combating     
child labor1 respecting internationally 
recognized worker rights1 providing     
adequate and effective intellectual     
property protection1 reducing barriers  
to services trade and investment1 and   
providing the ,united ,states with      
equitable and reasonable market access4 
,in ,april #bjah1 ,,ustr announced that 
it is reviewing the eligibility of      
,india1 ,indonesia1 and ,kazakhstan in  
the ,,gsp program based on concerns     
about the countries' compliance with the
 program4 ,this review did not mention  
,cambodia4  7#i7 ,in the #bjag ,human   
,rights ,report1 the ,department of     
,state warned3 ,labor inspectors did not

 enforce labor standards in the informal
 sector or in unlicensed workplaces4 ,in
 the formal sector1 sources reported    
labor inspectors conducted routine      
inspections only in registered garment  
and footwear factories1 where the       
incidence of child labor remained       
extremely low44  7#aj7 ,in its          
country-specific ,cambodia report in    
#bjag1 the ,department of ,labor stated3
 ,when child labor inspections do occur1
 they are concentrated in the city of   
,phnom ,penh1 as well as in the         
provincial1 formal-sector factories     
producing goods for export1 such as     
textiles and garments44  7#aa7 ,in      
#bjah1 the ,department of ,labor        
released a report on goods produced by  
child labor pursuant to the ,trafficking
 ,victims ,protection ,reauthorization  
,act of #bjje1 and identified ,cambodia 
as one of four countries1 including the 
,people's ,republic of ,china1 which    
produces textiles with child labor4     
7#ab7 ,the ,european ,union established 

,everything ,but ,arms 7,,eba7 in #bjja1
 a comparable ,,gsp program1 which      
included ,cambodia4 ,the ,european      
,union began the formal process of      
reviewing ,cambodia's inclusion in ,,eba
 in #bjah in response to ,prime         
,minister ,hun ,sen's authoritarian     
manipulation of the #bjah general       
elections1 which included imprisoning   
,cambodia ,national ,rescue ,party      
7,,cnrp7 ,president ,kem ,sokha1        
dissolving ,,cnrp1 and closing          
independent newspapers and radio        
stations4  7#ac7 ,on ,february #aa1     
#bjai1 the ,european ,commission        
launched a procedure that could lead to 
suspension of ,cambodia from ,,eba trade
 preferences4 ,in the announcement the  
,commission stated3 ,following a period 
of enhanced engagement1 including a     
fact-finding mission to ,cambodia in    
,july #bjah and subsequent bilateral    
meetings at the highest level1 the      
,commission has concluded that there is 
evidence of serious and systematic      

violations of core human rights and     
labour rights in ,cambodia1 in          
particular of the rights to political   
participation as well as of the freedoms
 of assembly1 expression and            
association4 ,these findings add to the 
longstanding ,,eu concerns about the    
lack of workers' rights and disputes    
linked to economic land concessions in  
the country44  #c4 ,report on the       
continuing participation of ,cambodia in
 the ,generalized ,system of            
,preferences  7a7 ,report ,not later    
than #ij days after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act1 the ,president  
shall submit to the appropriate         
committees of ,congress a report setting
 forth the following3  7#a7 ,a          
determination as to whether1 if its     
status as such were reviewed1 the       
,government of ,cambodia would meet the 
criteria in sections #eja and #ejb7;c7  
of the ,trade ,act of #aigd 7#ai        
,u4,s4,c4 #bdfa1 #bdfb7;c77 for         
designation as-- 7,a7 a beneficiary     

developing country2 or  7,b7 a          
least-developed beneficiary developing  
country4  7#b7 ,a decision as to whether
 the application of duty-free treatment 
under the ,generalized ,system of       
,preferences to the ,government of      
,cambodia should be withdrawn1          
suspended1 or limited pursuant to       
section #ejb7;d7 of the ,trade ,act of  
#aigd 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #bdfb7;d774  7b7   
,form ,the report required by subsection
 7a7 shall be submitted in unclassified 
form1 but may include a classified      
annex4  7c7 ,appropriate committees of  
,congress defined ,in this section1 the 
term appropriate committees of ,congress
 means--  7#a7 the ,committee on        
,finance of the ,senate2 and  7#b7 the  
,committee on ,ways and ,means of the   
,house of ,representatives4