Introduction Global trade stands at a pivotal moment: emerging technologies could improve many of the practices fundamental to international commerce, from automating cumbersome paperwork requirements to improving access to financing. Yet the pace of technological transformation remains constrained due to fragmented regulatory frameworks and compliance protocols that emerged to address analogue, rather than digital, contexts. As some regions modernize quickly and adopt digital solutions, others lag behind, which creates a growing divide. In this evolving landscape, digital readiness is no longer a competitive edge – it is a prerequisite. Those without it risk exclusion from the benefits of global trade. Against this backdrop, the TradeTech Global initiative emerged as a strategic collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and the World Economic Forum to accelerate the digital transformation of international trade. The initiative seeks to harness emerging technologies to address long-standing inefficiencies that have hampered global commerce and limited participation in global trade. By promoting sustained public– private engagement, the TradeTech initiative – a multiyear project among the partners – provides a unique platform for collaboration among policy- makers, regulators, financial institutions and technology innovators to reimagine trade systems. The TradeTech initiative recently launched its Regulatory Sandbox to address one of the most critical barriers to innovation in trade: regulatory uncertainty. It tested solutions across several core areas within trade finance: –Trade documentation –Identity and trust systems for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) trade finance –Credit assessment and SME inclusion –Digital guarantees and payment settlement This report highlights the main findings, identifies issues that require greater consideration and recommends actions for promoting TradeTech innovation.Objectives The TradeTech Regulatory Sandbox was designed to generate practical insights into how digital trade technologies interact with existing regulatory frameworks. While technological solutions have proliferated in recent years, their adoption at scale has been limited by questions about legality, compliance and security. By allowing start-ups and regulators to experiment together in a safe, structured environment, the sandbox created opportunities to: –Test the real-world applicability of innovative trade technologies in a live but controlled environment –Explore how existing regulations interact with digital tools such as blockchain, tokenized identity and stablecoins –Identify regulatory gaps or areas needing reform to support the adoption of a digital trade infrastructure –Enable regulators to better understand new technologies, thereby reducing the risk of over- or under-regulation –Build trust between innovators and regulators to promote long-term policy innovation and harmonization With regulatory clarity and certainty, innovation at scale can occur. Sandboxes are an important element to help regulators feel safe and provide the clarity the market requires. This sandbox specifically focused on trade finance, as it represents a critical bottleneck in global commerce. With paper-heavy processes, complex compliance requirements and fragmented stakeholder landscape, trade finance offered a fertile testing ground for digital innovations that could deliver significant efficiency gains while ensuring appropriate safeguards.Regulators and innovators are collaborating in the TradeTech sandbox to explore the potential of emerging technologies in digitalizing global trade. Advancing Digital Trade: Insights from the UAE TradeTech Regulatory Sandbox 5

Advancing Digital Trade 2025