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PHNOM PENH: As Cambodian garment workers took breaks from toiling in sweltering factories on Tuesday, they feared for their jobs after US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 36 percent tariff.

“I beg the US to reduce the tariff for the sake of workers in Cambodia,” 38-year-old Im Sothearin told AFP as she rested from her work in an underwear factory in the capital Phnom Penh.

“If they charge a high tariff, it is only workers who are going to suffer,” said the mother-of-three who earns only $300 a month.

“Factories might be closed or workers will have their wages lowered, or be forced to work faster.”

Cambodia — a major manufacturer of low-cost clothing for Western brands — was among the nations hardest hit by Trump’s “Liberation Day” blitz of tariff threats in April.

The US president originally outlined a 49-percent rate if Cambodia failed to broker a deal with Washington. On Monday, he lowered it to 36 percent and extended the negotiation deadline to August 1.

While the levy is lower than the original eye-watering figure, it has done little to allay anxieties.

“If the tariff is that high, companies won’t have money to pay,” 28-year-old pregnant worker Sreymom, who goes by only one name, told AFP as she bought fruit on her lunch break.

“I am worried that we won’t have jobs to do,” the 11-year veteran of the factory floor said. “I want the tariff to be reduced more.”

Cambodia’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington called the reduction in the proposed rate — announced in a letter among more than a dozen Trump despatched to trade partners — a “huge victory.”

“We are so successful in negotiations,” Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol told reporters in Phnom Penh. “We still have a chance to negotiate further to reduce the tariff rate more.”

But back in April commerce ministry spokesman Penn Sovicheat told AFP that harsh US tariffs on his country were “not reasonable.”

Cambodia said it had about $10 billion in exports to the United States last year, mainly garment products.

The nation has been paying a 10-percent standby rate as negotiators rush to make a deal.

Many factories in Cambodia are Chinese-owned. The White House previously accused the kingdom of allowing Chinese goods to stop over on the way to US markets, thereby skirting steeper rates imposed on Beijing.

Yi Mom has had a two-decade career in the garment industry. But she frets it may be ended if Cambodia fails to soften the blow threatened by the United States.

“I fear that the high tariff will affect factories and will result in fewer jobs for workers,” said the 47-year-old.

“Then we will have low wages and will not be able to support our families.”

ATHENS: Greece’s top archaeological monument, the Acropolis, was partially shut Tuesday as part of emergency measures to protect visitors and workers around the country during a four-day heatwave.

The Greek culture ministry said the world-renowned site would be shut till 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) “for the safety of workers and visitors, owing to high temperatures.”

The four-day heatwave confirmed by meteorologists began Sunday is the second to grip Greece since late June.

Temperatures are expected to reach 42 Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, with a maximum of 38 Celsius in Athens.

Similar temperatures are expected on Wednesday.

To protect outdoor workers, the labor ministry has decreed a work stoppage from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. in various parts of the country, including several islands.

The stoppage mainly affects construction work and delivery riders.

“Days with a heatwave make my job more difficult,” cycle-riding courier Michalis Keskinidis told AFP.

“We drink a lot of water to protect ourselves from the heat, combined with electrolytes, and take breaks whenever possible,” the 43-year-old said.

The 2,500-year-old Acropolis, built on a rock overlooking the capital that offers little shade, draws tens of thousands of visitors daily.

Last year it recorded some 4.5 million visitors, an increase of over 15 percent compared to 2023.

Officials had been forced to order similar shutdowns in the past two years in heatwave conditions.

The Greek civil protection authority has warned of high fire risk in the greater Athens area, in central Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula.

Greece’s fire department has been dealing with up to 50 fires daily, the head of the Greek fire service officers’ union Constantinos Tsigkas told state TV ERT.

Elsewhere, Serbia’s hydrometeorological service RMHZ warned that weather conditions could fuel more fires, after 620 fires were recorded Monday.

But there are also thunderstorms expected in Serbia’s northern Vojvodina region, as well as in western and central areas.

RHMZ has also warned of the possibility of hail and hurricane-force gusts of wind.

Croatia has already felt the impact of storms since Monday, with several of the country’s regions affected.

Two people were injured and hospitalized in Vinkovci after a storm knocked down a power line on a family house near the eastern town, police said.

The authorities said they had taken dozens of calls over wind-related emergencies including trees blocking roads, damaged roofs and power failures.

On Tuesday, heavy rain and gale-force winds flooded roads, knocked down trees and caused power outages at the Croatian port town of Split, the state-run HRT broadcaster reported.

At the town’s port, a ferry broke its moorings and hit a catamaran and a tourist excursion boat, sinking the latter.

There was similar trouble further north, with storms raging in Hungary and Slovakia.

In Budapest, strong winds damaged roofs, felled trees onto roads and downed power lines on Monday, with the national meteorological service HungaroMet measuring winds up to 137 kilometers (85 miles) per hour locally.

Rail traffic was severely disrupted across Hungary with full restoration of services potentially requiring weeks, according to Construction and Transport Minister Janos Lazar.

In Slovakia, gale-force winds caused power outages and blew off the roof of a block of flats in the eastern town of Gelnica and fallen trees disrupted road and railway transport across the region.

The country’s weather service SHMU has issued a storm warning with heavy rain, wind and hail for Tuesday, mainly for central and eastern Slovakia.