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Global trade is not slowing down. But it is becoming harder to navigate. The WTO’s latest Goods Trade Barometer reached 102.0, above its long-term baseline of 100, while the export orders index climbed to 103.5. Both indicate continued growth in global merchandise trade. But beneath those headline numbers, the trading environment is becoming more complicated. The WTO’s newly published World Trade Report 2026 says around 72% of global merchandise trade now takes place under st

For years, calculating landed cost meant adding freight, insurance, duties, taxes and handling charges to the price of the goods. In 2026, another cost entered the equation: carbon. On 1 January, the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism—or CBAM—entered its definitive phase. Importers of certain carbon-intensive goods must now account for the greenhouse-gas emissions embedded in those goods and, where applicable, purchase certificates reflecting those emissions.

AI is coming for international trade. It can already interpret documents, identify inconsistencies, recommend commodity codes, screen counterparties, predict delays and help businesses navigate unfamiliar trade rules. The World Trade Organization estimates that AI could increase global trade by between 34% and 37% by 2040. The temptation is obvious: take every slow, manual trade process and add AI. But there is a problem. AI cannot create order from a transaction that nobody

Shipping the goods is not the same as completing the trade. The transaction is only complete when the money is in your account. That distinction matters more than ever. World merchandise trade was surprisingly resilient in early 2026, growing 3.2% year-on-year in the first quarter, according to the World Trade Organization. But beneath that growth, exporters are carrying more risk for longer. In its latest survey of 6,000 companies across 13 countries, Allianz Trade found tha

The order looks profitable. The customer is ready. The price has been agreed. Then the shipment encounters a new tariff, an unexpected customs charge, a compliance problem or a freight surcharge. Suddenly, the margin you thought you had has disappeared. That risk is becoming harder to ignore. The World Trade Organization forecasts that merchandise trade growth will slow from 4.6% in 2025 to 1.9% in 2026. It also estimates that persistently high energy prices could reduce grow

A supplier creates a commercial invoice in its accounting system. It saves the invoice as a PDF and emails it to the buyer. The buyer downloads it, compares it with a purchase order and forwards it to a freight forwarder. The freight forwarder extracts the information and enters it into another system. A customs agent does it again. The finance team may repeat the process before releasing payment. The document is digital. The transaction is not. Replacing paper with a PDF cha

“I think we should start selling internationally.” It sounds like a strategy. It isn't. Germany is a strategy. Selling 500 units of Product X to a specific German customer at a price that still makes you money is a strategy. For an SME, that distinction matters. The opportunity is unquestionably there. Global trade in goods and commercial services reached $34.89 trillion in 2025, up 8% in a single year, according to the World Trade Organization. But comparatively few SMEs cap

The buyer has a purchase order. The seller has a commercial invoice. The freight forwarder has shipping instructions. The customs broker has a declaration. The bank has payment conditions. The insurer has a description of the goods and their value. Every party is working on the same international trade transaction. But they may not be working from the same information. That is one of the most persistent and underestimated problems in international trade. A transaction that be

An Irish food distributor receives an enquiry from a hotel-supply company in the Middle East. The prospective customer wants to purchase three refrigerated containers of premium dairy products for a new hospitality development. The opportunity is worth €420,000. Over the next four weeks, everything appears credible. The buyer has a professional website, an active LinkedIn presence and photographs of completed hotel projects. Its purchasing director joins two video calls and s

Three letters can decide who pays, who carries the risk, who clears customs — and whether your export sale is actually profitable. EXW. FCA. FOB. CIF. DAP. DDP. To an inexperienced exporter, Incoterms can look like harmless shipping shorthand. They are not. They are commercial risk-allocation rules. Choose the wrong one, misunderstand the obligation, or fail to specify the named place clearly, and a good order can quickly become a bad one. The goods may still ship. The buyer

International trade is not becoming simpler. The World Trade Organization expects world merchandise trade growth to slow from 4.6% in 2025 to 1.9% in 2026, while geopolitical disruption, transport costs and changing regulations continue to pressure supply chains. Meanwhile, more than 80% of goods traded worldwide move by sea, making exporters highly dependent on complex networks of carriers, ports, customs authorities, freight forwarders and documentation providers. In that e

Winning your first overseas customer is an important milestone. But it is not the same as successfully completing your first export. Between the buyer saying “yes” and the money arriving in your account lies a chain of decisions involving pricing, delivery responsibilities, customs, documentation, transport, insurance and payment risk. A mistake at any point can delay the shipment, erode your margin or leave you chasing payment from a customer in another jurisdiction. These c

The goods have been manufactured. The customer is waiting. The container is packed and on its way to the port. Then the call comes. The product description on the commercial invoice does not match the customs declaration. The quantity on the packing list differs from the transport booking. Or an outdated commodity code has been copied from an old spreadsheet. The shipment cannot proceed. A small spreadsheet error has suddenly become a major international trade problem—and the

Ireland has just taken an important step toward deeper, more predictable international trade. On 17 June 2026, the Government announced that the Arbitration (Amendment) Act 2026 had been signed into law. Its immediate purpose is technical but significant: it creates a new legal procedure to enforce international investment tribunal awards in Ireland, addressing issues raised in the Supreme Court’s Costello judgments. Most importantly for business, it clears a major obstacle t

Stablecoins are having a moment. And for good reason. They promise faster settlement, lower friction, 24/7 availability and a more modern way to move value across borders. For anyone involved in international trade, that sounds very attractive. Cross-border payments can still be slow, expensive and frustratingly opaque. If stablecoins can reduce some of that friction, they deserve serious attention. But here is the awkward truth: faster money does not fix a broken trade proce

Global trade is entering a new phase. For decades, international trade finance has operated within a relatively familiar framework: dominant reserve currencies, established banking rails, paper-heavy documentation and well-understood processes for financing, settling and reconciling cross-border transactions. That framework is now beginning to shift. The European Central Bank’s 2026 report on the international role of the euro points to a global financial system that is becom

International trade is moving again — and fast. According to the latest OECD G20 international trade statistics, merchandise trade across the G20 rose sharply in Q1 2026, with both exports and imports increasing by 5.3% quarter-on-quarter. Trade in services also expanded, with exports up 1.7% and imports up 1.5%. That is good news for businesses looking to buy, sell and expand internationally. But it also creates a problem. Most companies are still managing trade with process

International trade is not slowing down. According to UNCTAD’s Key Statistics and Trends in International Trade 2025, global trade in goods and services is expected to reach US$35.2 trillion in 2025, a new all-time high. Goods trade alone accounts for US$26.4 trillion, or roughly three quarters of total global trade, while services contribute US$8.8 trillion. That is a huge opportunity. But for many businesses, especially small and mid-sized companies, international trade is

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