Executive summary:
 
AI and trade are no longer separate policy domains. AI growth depends on globalized supply chains for semiconductors, computing infrastructure and digital services while trade is increasingly shaped by who controls AI infrastructure, data flows and cloud capacity. 

• Trade openness is a structural precondition for AI-driven productivity gains. Open economies benefit disproportionately from cheaper inputs, faster innovation diffusion and AI adoption spillovers. Trade openness accounts for 23% of the variation in AI adoption across countries with highly open economies, such as Singapore, UAE and Ireland, leading in diffusion. However, while AI can significantly boost growth, its benefits are unlikely to be evenly distributed.
  
  
• Export volumes of AI-enabling goods have surged from USD1trn in 2014 to USD3.8trn in 2025 (+280%), accounting for 15% of global trade and far outpacing the 40% growth in goods trade overall. Asia dominates the supply side, accounting for 65% of global AI-related exports and seven of the top ten exporters, led by China (18% of AI-related exports), Taiwan (12%) and Hong Kong (11%). 

Beyond the headline data, three structural dynamics are reshaping the global AI trade order. Download full report now.