More Agreements, Less Benefit: Why Global Trade Potential Remains Largely Untapped

How trade-agreement complexity, compliance burdens, and limited digital adoption are restricting global trade potential

Governments worldwide have signed hundreds of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to reduce trade barriers and improve market access. Yet a substantial share of eligible trade still fails to claim preferential tariff benefits, leaving billions of dollars in potential savings unrealized.

This research report examines the growing gap between the expansion of global trade agreements and their actual utilization by businesses. It explores how complex rules of origin, fragmented compliance requirements, documentation burdens, sanctions risks, and limited digitalization continue to prevent companies from fully leveraging available trade benefits.

The report analyzes global FTA utilization trends across regions, highlights key barriers to adoption, and presents a case study on the India–UAE CEPA that demonstrates how significant tariff-saving opportunities often remain unclaimed. Key insights include:

• Why FTA utilization rates remain uneven despite rapid growth in trade agreements.
• The operational and compliance challenges limiting tariff preference claims.
• The hidden costs of manual trade compliance processes.
• How AI-powered trade intelligence and automation can help businesses unlock greater trade benefits and reduce compliance risks.

Download the report to understand why the future of trade competitiveness may depend less on signing new agreements and more on effectively utilizing the agreements that already exist.