Trade and Investment
Working Group on Trade and Investment
(Working Group on Trade and Investment: WGTI)
Primary Agency: Ministry of Commerce
Background and Principles
The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) program aims to develop cross-border trade and transport systems to ensure the movement of goods and services is rapid, convenient, transparent, and cost-effective. Although the regional road network has expanded by nearly 200,000 kilometers and international road freight has nearly doubled in recent years, regulatory constraints, customs procedures, and border management issues persist, keeping cross-border transport costs high.
Under the GMS 2030 strategic framework, cooperation in trade facilitation focuses on improving regulations and operational mechanisms alongside infrastructure development. Emphasis is placed on modernizing customs systems, establishing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards, promoting private sector engagement, and developing e-commerce platforms. Furthermore, the GMS Transport and Trade Facilitation Action Program and the Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA) play vital roles in reducing transport barriers by expanding traffic rights, streamlining customs procedures, and strengthening the capacity of relevant agencies to support economic connectivity with the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and long-term regional economic integration.
Recent Progress
Progress has been made in advancing the framework for the digitalization of trade documents, which is currently being implemented under the cooperation framework for trade document digitalization. Key supported activities include digital trade seminars in Beijing and Hangzhou, and the GMS Trade and Investment Matchmaking Fair in Nanning. These efforts run alongside the expedited implementation of the CBTA, particularly in its Early Harvest phase, to increase the speed and efficiency of cross-border movement for goods and vehicles. The Working Group prioritizes developing trade facilitation mechanisms that link both physical and digital dimensions by leveraging digital trade platforms, such as the Thailand National Digital Trade Platform (NDTP), to support non-infrastructure measures under the CBTA. This ensures alignment with existing regional cooperation frameworks, while a GMS subregional statistical database is currently being developed to inform future policy-making.
