Summary
Rationale
Since its inception in 1992, the GMS Program has made significant strides in
developing the transportation, energy, and telecommunications infrastructure of the
subregion. To complement investments in infrastructure, GMS countries have entered
into agreements to facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and peoples in the
GMS. GMS trade and investment have benefited from these initiatives and have
contributed to the opening of the GMS economies. The People's Republic of China, as
well as Cambodia's accession to the World Trade Organization are expected to bring
unprecedented opportunities for further expanding trade in the region. As the GMS
countries become gradually integrated into the regional and global trading environments,
they have recognized the need to fast track improvements in trade, initially applying
improved trade measures among countries in the subregion as well as other trading
partners.
The growing openness of the GMS economies is creating opportunities for
enterprise in the Greater Mekong to become part of larger regional production networks.
These region-wide production networks are generally on the rise in Southeast Asia from
advantages of locating in the region and integrating with ASEAN through the ASEAN
Free Trade Area and the ASEAN Investment Area or AIA. In the GMS, small and
medium enterprises (SMEs), the basic production units, could benefit from these
developments if they are made more competitive. Efforts to develop SMEs through an
enabling policy environment, access to credit and long-term finance, and training in
product development and marketing assistance are essential to helping SMEs
participate in global production networks, thus expanding production capacities and
trade.
Flagship Objectives
The flagship program on facilitating cross-border trade and investment aims to:
(i) promote the competitiveness of the subregion by facilitating cross-border trade and
investment in the GMS, (ii) implement measures to facilitate trade, initially focusing on
customs procedures, followed by the upgrading of standards framework, the
development of trade finance, integration of freight forwarding and the introduction of
electronic data interchange (EDI), (iii) overcome existing inadequacies in information on
trade and investment to stimulate business expansion in GMS border areas, and (iv)
support small and medium enterprises and make them competitive in global markets.
These objectives are closely linked with those of enhancing private sector participation
and competitiveness.
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Key Components and Priorities
The Program has the following key components:
i) Development and maintenance of a cross-border trade and investment
information system;
ii) Development of products and services to support SMEs;
iii) Trade and customs facilitation, initially focusing on single-stop and single-
window inspection and expanding to modern border management
systems;
iv) Standards framework upgrading;
v) Facilitation of cross-border movement of goods and peoples in the GMS
vi) Development and integration of freight forwarding;
vii) Industrial development;
viii) Coordination of policies and regulation on trade-related financial and
insurance services;
ix) Development of market information networks to facilitate trade linkages
(including market access mechanisms, export promotion programs,
access to international trading companies); and
x) Development of e-commerce systems to improve the integration of the
trade transaction process (between sellers, shippers, bankers and
purchasers).
The component on cross-border trade and investment information aims to
develop and maintain cross-border trade data and information, and make them
accessible to private business in a timely and useful manner. The trade information data
base will be developed in parallel with the implementation of Single-Stop Customs
Inspection (SSCI) at the eight border pilot sites in the GMS. Training and capacity
building will be provided to border area public sector personnel and a consultation
mechanism developed with the private sector in order to ensure responsiveness of the
data base to private sector requirements (exporter, freight forwarder, banker).
Products and services to support SMEs include guides for business planning and
development, organization of trade and investment missions, market encounters to
promote matching of business opportunities, assistance in formulating business
development plans, and building networks with multinational enterprises. Subregional
cooperation will entail establishing mechanisms by which SMEs can access these
products and services to expand or generate new production capacities. Networking
among SMEs, especially those located in contiguous areas, as well as with multinational
companies, is crucial in enabling these enterprises to enter into subcontracting
arrangements, especially geared towards the export market.
Consistent with the holistic approach of the 10-Year Strategy Framework, trade
facilitation will focus on complementing efforts to reduce nonphysical barriers to trade.
The Third Trade Facilitation Working Group Meeting, held on December 2 and 3, 2003 in
Manila, agreed on the following stages of trade facilitation: (i) modern border
management systems (i.e. single-stop and single window), customs transit transport
regimes, multimodal transport operations and improving the proficiency of exporters; (ii)
the development of supportive structures for GMS exporters to meet international
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purchase orders (which includes the development of a quality standards compliance
program, trade finance and insurance schemes); (iii) the development of market
information networks to facilitate trade linkages (including market access mechanisms,
export promotion programs, access to international trading companies); and (iv) the
development of e-commerce systems to improve the integration of the trade transaction
process (between sellers, shippers, bankers and purchasers).
The first phase of cooperation in trade facilitation covers modern border
management systems, i.e. single-stop and single window customs inspection, the
harmonization of cross-border customs procedures, the development of legal
mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of common control areas at the initially at
the cross-border pilot areas of Mukdahan in Thailand and Savannakhet in Lao PDR,
Dan Savanh in Lao PDR, and Lao Bao in Viet Nam, Poipet in Cambodia and
Aranyaprathet in Thailand, and Moc Bai in Cambodia and Bavet in Viet Nam. Pilot sites
are strategically located along the economic corridors.
The Framework Agreement to Facilitate the Cross Border Movement of Goods
and Peoples in the GMS has been signed and ratified by all GMS countries (Cambodia,
the PRC, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam). The purpose of the Agreement is
to promote regional trade and transport in the GMS by reducing the friction in crossborder
transport by road. The Agreement has the objectives of: (i) facilitating crossborder
transport of goods and people; (ii) simplifying and harmonizing institutional
procedures relating to cross-border transport; and (iii) promoting multimodal transport.
ADB has developed in the Agreement a general set of principles and procedures for
inspection formalities (Part II and Annex 4) and for entry and exit of people (Part III and
Annex 5 with Protocol 1), goods (Part IV and Annexes 1, 3 and 6) and vehicles (Part V
and Annex 2, 7 and 8). - Ten out of the 20 annexes and protocols that will provide the
implementation arrangements for the GMS Agreement have been finalized, and Stage 1
annexes was signed in April 2004. The remaining annexes and protocols will be
negotiated in 2004 and 2005. By the end of 2005, all the annexes and protocols are
expected to have been finalized and signed. Full implementation of the Agreement and
its annexes and protocols is expected by 2006/2007.
Industrial promotion in the context of the GMS Program will focus on developing
cross-border production facilities, especially those located along economic corridors.
The area offers considerable potential for trade and tourism development, agricultural
processing, and industrial development. Processing zones along the North-South
Corridor covering the districts of Mae Sai, Chiang Saen, and Chang Kong in Thailand
have initially been identified and will be the subject of feasibility studies.
The Third Trade Facilitation Working Group Meeting (TFWG-3) agreed on the
need to study the constraints in the supply chain of the trade logistics system in the GMS
in order to develop a trade facilitation strategy for individual countries. A study planned
for 2004 will review the constraints in the following areas: (i) market access and
business linkages; (ii) access to trade finance for export production; (iii) trade documents
and procedures; (iv) modern border management; (v) international freight forwarding
development; (vi) intermodal integration. The GMS governments as well as the private
sector have highlighted the critical role of the financial sector in promoting cross-border
trade and investment. The need for a reliable payments system and harmonized banking
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regulations, as well as streamlined trade documentation procedures are issues that have
been raised by government officials in the TFWG-3. A study on these and other
impediments to trade-finance is planned for 2004 to help identify the magnitude of the
problem and the appropriate response through subregional cooperation.
Sequencing Priorities
Sequencing projects and activities implies their relative priority. In trade
facilitation, two high priority activities are approval and implementation of the Framework
Agreement on Cross-Border Facilitation targeted for 2005, and pilot-testing the concept
of single-stop customs inspection, a requisite step before the scheme can be applied
region-wide. Transparency of customs procedures crucial to customs operations could
be implemented immediately after the pilot-tests, for region-wide application of customs
facilitation measures to proceed effectively. As regards investment promotion, support
services and systems for helping SMEs become more competitive are high priority.
Activities listed for these three priorities in the development matrix are currently
supported by ADB and the Mekong Project Development Fund Facility.
Financing
Seventeen projects and activities have been identified to support the seven
components described above, of which 12 have estimated costs. It is not appropriate
however, to add up these cost estimates since in a number of cases, several activities
are closely linked and are funded under one project. Moreover, some of the projects
listed are preparatory in nature and do not reflect the cost to implement full-scale
activities.