Artificial Intelligence and the Revolution of Global Trade

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the global business landscape is being reshaped in real time.

The US has recently imposed sweeping new tariffs, prompting more than 60 countries to prepare retaliatory measures and deal with disruptions, while major exporters face further restrictions on sensitive goods.

Trade routes are being rerouted due to geopolitical tensions. Legal frameworks are becoming increasingly complex and fragmented.

Disruptions, from cyberattacks to climate shocks and supply chain breakdowns, are becoming more frequent and common.

According to the WEF Chief Economists' Outlook Report, May 2025, 89% of economists believe that governments need to increase investment in AI infrastructure and 86% believe that businesses must take the lead in adopting AI in key industries to ensure long-term growth.

While the report highlights the challenge of maintaining investment amid global uncertainty, it also underscores an important point: businesses that stay resilient and invest in smart infrastructure now will be best positioned to thrive in the long term.

In this volatile environment, the traditional view of commerce as a purely operational, regulatory-driven function has become dangerously outdated.

What was once a static activity is now a dynamic “battlefield” requiring foresight, speed, and strategic control.

Yet most businesses still manage commerce using disjointed systems, manual tracking tools, and enterprise resource planning rules written for another era.

Managing a rapidly changing and increasingly risky business environment requires leaders to view trade as a strategic control point, informing sourcing decisions, yield management, risk posture and real-time adaptability.

AI for Disruptive Commerce

AI enables predictive modeling across the entire supply chain. Businesses can simulate sourcing decisions under changing regulations, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) requirements, and geopolitical constraints.

These simulations help leaders make defensible and auditable decisions that align with business goals and compliance requirements.

Cars waiting for export at a port in Shandong province (China). (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

With AI, commerce becomes a strategic lever for resilience and competitive advantage.

With increasingly advanced capabilities, AI systems can monitor global events, such as weather, sanctions, and cyber threats in real time; detect anomalies in routes, suppliers, and documents; run 24/7 compliance checks to avoid fines or delays; model disruption scenarios while simulating alternative solutions across routes and suppliers.

At the heart of this transformation is AI that is capable of autonomous action, meaning systems that can advise and act automatically. Imagine a platform that detects a change in regulations, reroutes shipments, updates documentation, and notifies relevant parties.

All without human intervention. This is not a far-fetched vision; it is the emerging reality of AI-powered commerce.

For example, a company transporting temperature-sensitive products through a route affected by port closures. With AI, the company can predict the impact on transit times, identify alternative routes, and adjust delivery times, all automatically before operations are affected. This is a shift from reactive firefighting to proactive decision-making.

Effective AI adoption requires leadership commitment and vision

Without executive sponsorship, AI projects remain isolated pilots. They lack the scale, funding, and cross-functional support needed for meaningful transformation.

Despite the obvious benefits, commercial adoption of AI remains limited. The core issue is not technology; it is strategic intent. Business executives need to rethink what is possible as they embed intelligence into every layer of their operations. This fosters resilience and encourages executives to consider what productivity, value creation, and competitive advantage mean in this new era.

To change, management needs to reframe commerce as a strategic element that should influence key decisions, such as market entry, pricing, and product launches, not just logistics.

Facilitating cross-departmental coordination: AI in commerce involves procurement, finance, legal, and information technology (IT). Integrating them is key.

Establish AI governance: Set clear KPIs, ensure accountability, and build systems that align AI results with business outcomes.
Without these enablers, companies risk deploying powerful tools into environments that cannot support them.

Facing disruption with intelligence and determination

(Photo: AFP/VNA)

Global trade disruption is no longer an occasional occurrence; it is structural. Climate regulations, cyber risks, digital trade restrictions, and geopolitical shifts are increasing in frequency and scale. Businesses must stop treating disruption as a surprise and start preparing for it as the new normal.

Those who remain resilient and continue to invest in AI and technology infrastructure in the face of uncertainty will be able to withstand the chaos and lead through it. Long-term investment in intelligent systems is the ultimate act of corporate leadership, building resilience before it is tested.

The companies that succeed in this environment will be those that command their commercial ecosystems with intelligence, autonomy, and speed.

Companies that delay transformation face increased risk, narrowed options, and growing customer dissatisfaction, while competitors build ecosystems that are resilient to disruption.

Commerce is no longer just about crossing borders; it is about crossing thresholds. The future belongs to companies that move from compliance to transparency, from operations to strategy, and from static systems to intelligent ecosystems./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/intelligence-and-the-innovation-of-global-commerce-post1061157.vnp