The UAE is set to play an outsized role in the next phase of global trade, according to DMCC's Future of Trade 2026 report, launched in Dubai this week.
Titled "Rebuilding Through Rupture," the report finds that while global trade will remain resilient over the next two years, it will operate under a fundamentally different model shaped by AI, tariff volatility, and supply chains built for resilience over cost efficiency.
The report, now in its sixth edition, draws on roundtables with over 200 senior leaders and a survey of more than 130 businesses. Its findings are stark: more than 80% of respondents expect slow, uneven trade growth over the next one to three years, with only 4% anticipating a best-case scenario.
A major structural shift is also underway in trade geography. South-South trade now accounts for around 35% of global trade, surpassing North-North flows at roughly 25%, redirecting growth toward corridors linking Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The UAE is identified as a central "connector economy" in this new model, leveraging its geography, infrastructure, capital access and diversified trade relationships.
That positioning is already attracting investment. The UAE ranked among the top five recipients of greenfield investment globally in 2024, and retains second place in DMCC's 2026 Commodity Trade Index, behind only the United States.
The report also highlights AI as a significant driver of trade growth. AI-related goods accounted for 43% of global trade growth in the first half of 2025, with trade across 100 AI-related product lines reaching $1.92 trillion, up more than 20% year-on-year.
On digital finance, the UAE is named among a small group of jurisdictions, alongside Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK, developing clear stablecoin regulatory frameworks. The country is also a core participant in mBridge, the most significant wholesale central bank digital currency initiative currently underway.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
