‘Early Harvest’ Implementation of the Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement

The CBTA is a flagship initiative under the GMS Program to promote transport and trade facilitation. It was ratified in 2015. However, some parts of the CBTA are outdated and need to be revised.

The GMS Transport Ministers, as members of the Joint Committee responsible for managing the CBTA, agreed in 2016 to launch the "Early Harvest" implementation of the CBTA in 2018, and to work on the revision process in the meantime.

The six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the ‘Early Harvest’ Implementation of the Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA) in 2017 and 2018.

This MOU became effective on 1 August 2018. The "Early Harvest" was launched, and further extended to 31 May 2020. Due to the Covid-19 global health pandemic, operations were halted in March 2020 and the Memorandum of Understanding expired.

At their Eighth Joint Committee meeting in December 2022, the GMS Transport Ministers decided to further extend the 'Early Harvest' MOU to 31 December 2026, when Myanmar is also expected to join.

Countries have issued Permits and Temporary Admission Documents, and operations under the 'Early Harvest' are re-starting, marked by a first trial from Kunming, PRC to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Early Harvest Brochures

Download the CBTA 'Early Harvest' brochures for the following countries:

• Cambodia (English | Khmer)
• People’s Republic of China (English | (中文)
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic (English | Lao)
• Thailand (English | ภาษาไทย)
• Viet Nam (English | Tiếng Việt)

Specimen Permits (for information purposes only)

• Cambodia
• People’s Republic of China
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic
• Thailand
• Viet Nam

Specimen Motor Vehicle Temporary Admission Document (for information purposes only)

• Cambodia
• People’s Republic of China
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic
• Thailand
• Viet Nam

Permissible Vehicle Weights and Dimensions

These are provided for general information and may be subject to revision. Transport operators are responsible for complying with the allowable vehicle weights and dimensions for each country. Failure to observe the rules may result in the cancellation of permits and an operator’s exclusion from the CBTA.

• Cambodia
• People’s Republic of China
• Lao People’s Democratic Republic
• Thailand
• Viet Nam

Training Materials

Training materials are available in English and in GMS national languages to supplement the information contained in the Early Harvest brochures.

Transport operators are encouraged to look in detail at Modules 1a and 1b, which provide a general overview of the CBTA Early Harvest and important compliance issues in their home country (the county where the operator and its vehicles are registered) and the host county (the other GMS countries visited). Transport operators may also wish to look at Module 5, which is about the controls performed by officials at the border.