Artificial Intelligence for Efficiency Sustainability and Inclusivity in TradeTech 2025

AI adoption builds on trends that are already under way: businesses are increasingly treating data as a product, improving quality and usability, and shifting from proprietary technology towards open, flexible solutions. These changes create a positive feedback loop, encouraging wider adoption of collaborative systems. The complexity of coordinating today’s supply chains and the blended sales of services and goods create a market ripe for AI. Already, services account for between a third and a half of the value added in manufacturing exports, including, for example, research, product development and after-sales support.4 The increasing relevance of services in global trade amplifies the potential value of AI in the creation and delivery of these embedded services.  AI innovations are thriving in highly tradeable sectors, and those sectors are in turn investing heavily in AI. More than 90% of AI-related patents are concentrated in five sectors: computer and electronics, machinery, IT services, transport equipment and electrical equipment.5 These factors combine to create a snowball effect, with AI’s role in global trade set to expand dramatically. An important consideration in the adoption of technology is the difficulty of introducing it. In the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) Smart Customs Survey, customs officials rated the incorporation of technologies such as virtual reality and blockchain as difficult, whereas introducing AI was rated as relatively easier (see Figure 2). Moreover, the potential impacts of AI adoption were seen as considerably higher than other technologies, such as 3D printing. Given limited resources for frontier technologies, a technology that is relatively easy to implement, with high expected impact, is set for high growth.AI adoption The AI avalanche in trade FIGURE 1 Increased growth in services and servicification further increases Al opportunities in tradeNew and efficient services further push the "servicification" trend in supply chains, increasing growth in services1 2 3 4Growth in services as a result of Information and Communication Technologies, especially digital services, increases cross-border data flows Al can enhance the delivery and efficiency of services, while also creating new services and business opportunities The increasing relevance of services in global trade amplifies the potential value of AI in the creation and delivery of these embedded services. Artificial Intelligence for Efficiency, Sustainability and Inclusivity in TradeTech 6