All Posts

For UK and Irish SMEs, the trade landscape in early 2026 is defined by agility. While the US remains a massive partner, a 15% baseline tariff on EU goods (and 10% for UK goods) has forced a strategic pivot. Relying on transatlantic routes now carries a significant cost disadvantage that "frontloading" and stockpiling can no longer mask. To maintain growth, SMEs in the UK and Ireland must look toward markets with more favourable regulatory frameworks and lower entry barriers.

Yesterday’s wires are today’s dinosaurs. Tomorrow’s trade runs on stablecoins. For decades, international trade has relied on payment rails that were never designed for real-time, global commerce. Correspondent banking, batch processing, opaque fees, cut-off times, and settlement delays measured in days are still treated as normal operating conditions. Everything else around trade has modernised — logistics, compliance, data exchange, and documentation — yet the movement of m

International trade still runs on an odd contradiction: containers move at near real-time speed, while finance still crawls along in envelopes and email attachments. The result is friction that everyone recognizes—and yet the industry tolerates because the “paper way” is deeply embedded in law, custom, and operational muscle memory. That inertia is measurable: A typical trade transaction can involve ~27 documents and a long chain of stakeholders and agencies. ICC United Kingd

What if a medium-sized business in Dublin could export as seamlessly as any European multinational? International trade drives economic growth, innovation, and job creation — yet its benefits are unevenly distributed. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for roughly 99% of firms and a majority of employment in advanced economies, but their share of export value remains disproportionately low compared with larger enterprises. This imbalance is not due to lack of a

International trade will no longer rely on old-world financial instruments like Letters of Credit (LCs) as the landscape continues to evolve through technology and digitalization. In 2021, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) introduced the Universal Rules for Digital Trade Transactions (URDTT), which aims to streamline international trade by establishing a standardised framework for digital trade. As a result, many aspects of traditional trade financing, particularly

From navigating complex regulations to managing supply chains and adapting to cultural differences, trading internationally for the first time is often a daunting task. The Challenges of Trading Internationally For The First Time Regulatory Barriers and Compliance Every country has its own set of trade rules, tariffs, and regulations. First-time international traders must navigate different laws and ensure compliance with customs requirements, which vary by country. This comp