Milestones
EVENTS
The Future of Trade: Building Resilience in a Fragmented World
Singapore, 30th September 2026
The Singapore Business Federation's Future of Trade Forum 2026 brought together policymakers, business leaders and trade practitioners to examine these challenges and the capabilities needed to navigate an increasingly complex trading environment. The Forum also marked an important milestone for the Centre for Trade Excellence, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with SBF to advance professional standards and capability development in trade and investment.
The Centre for Trade Excellence participated in the Singapore Business Federation's (SBF) Future of Trade Forum 2026, held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on 30 September. The Forum brought together senior government representatives, international organisations, business leaders and trade practitioners to consider the future of international commerce against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, economic fragmentation and changing regulatory expectations.
The Guest of Honour was Ms Grace Fu, Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations. Mr Teo Chee Hean, Chairman of Temasek Holdings, participated in a luncheon fireside conversation on business and trade in a changing geopolitical and macroeconomic landscape.
Representatives from organisations including the World Trade Organization, and International Chamber of Commerce, contributed to discussions spanning trade policy, supply chain resilience, digitalisation and the evolving demands placed on businesses operating across borders.
Trade in an increasingly fragmented world
A central theme running through the Forum was the growing complexity of the international trading environment.
For decades, businesses have organised their supply chains around the relative predictability of international trade rules, access to overseas markets and the efficiencies of global production networks. Today, those assumptions are being tested by geopolitical competition, industrial policies, trade restrictions and a widening range of national security considerations.
The consequences extend well beyond tariffs and market access. Export controls, sanctions, investment restrictions, supply chain due diligence and requirements concerning the origin and provenance of goods increasingly influence where businesses source, manufacture, invest and trade.
For businesses, the challenge is therefore not simply to respond to individual regulatory developments. It is to understand how changes in trade policy, geopolitics and economic security may affect their commercial relationships and operating models.
The discussions underscored the importance of resilience: the ability to anticipate disruption, adapt to changing conditions and maintain access to markets without compromising regulatory obligations or commercial competitiveness.
Trade compliance as a strategic capability
The Forum's discussions on navigating trade compliance and maximising Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) highlighted the increasingly close relationship between regulatory compliance and commercial strategy.
FTAs continue to offer important opportunities for businesses through preferential tariffs, improved market access and more predictable trading arrangements. Yet realising these benefits requires an understanding of rules of origin, customs requirements and the documentary evidence needed to substantiate preferential claims.
At the same time, businesses must contend with obligations that extend beyond traditional customs and tariff considerations.
Export controls, sanctions, forced labour restrictions and supply chain due diligence requirements increasingly demand a deeper understanding of the parties, goods, technologies and activities involved in international transactions.
This has important implications for how businesses organise their compliance functions. A certificate or declaration may establish what has been represented about a transaction, but it does not necessarily establish what occurred throughout the supply chain. Effective compliance increasingly depends on the ability to verify information, identify inconsistencies and connect evidence across commercial, logistical and regulatory processes.
Trade compliance can therefore no longer be regarded solely as an administrative function concerned with satisfying individual regulatory requirements. It is becoming an essential component of enterprise risk management, supply chain governance and strategic decision-making.
Digitalisation, trust and the future of cross-border trade
Digitalisation was another important dimension of the Forum.
Digital tools have considerable potential to reduce the administrative burden of international trade, improve access to information and help businesses navigate complex regulatory requirements. Their value, however, depends not only on technological capability but also on the reliability of the underlying information and the ability of different systems and institutions to work together.
SBF's launch of its Trade AI Advisor (TAIA), designed to help businesses access guidance on Singapore's FTAs, illustrated the opportunities for technology to make trade-related information more accessible.
Beyond access to information, the broader challenge is to develop trusted digital trade environments in which businesses and public authorities can exchange, verify and rely on information more efficiently.
For a major trading hub such as Singapore, progress in digital trade will depend on the development of interoperable systems, credible standards and the institutional arrangements needed to support confidence in cross-border transactions.
Building the capabilities that future trade requires
While policy and technology featured prominently throughout the Forum, an equally important question concerned the capabilities of the people and institutions responsible for navigating this changing environment.
As trade regulation becomes more interconnected, practitioners increasingly require expertise that extends beyond traditional functional boundaries. Customs, trade policy, export controls, sanctions, procurement, supply chain management, technology and sustainability can no longer be approached entirely in isolation.
Businesses need professionals who can recognise these connections, assess their implications and translate regulatory requirements into sound operational decisions.
This places greater importance on professional standards, structured competency development and learning pathways that reflect the realities of modern international trade.
It also calls for closer cooperation between industry, educational institutions, professional bodies and public authorities in developing the skills and institutional capabilities needed to sustain an open and resilient trading system.
Centre for Trade Excellence and SBF to advance professional standards
A significant milestone for the Centre was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Business Federation during the Forum, at a ceremony witnessed by Minister Grace Fu and senior SBF representatives.
The collaboration provides a basis for the two organisations to explore opportunities to strengthen professional standards and capability development in trade and investment.
Areas of potential cooperation include the alignment of competency frameworks, professional development pathways, recognition of learning, industry-relevant programmes and regional capability building.
Of particular significance is the opportunity to examine how trade-related competencies and professional pathways can become more coherent and relevant across different markets and institutional settings.
The Centre's ambition is not simply to expand the availability of training. It is to contribute to a more structured approach to professional development, one that connects knowledge, practical competencies and institutional needs.
The collaboration with SBF represents an important step towards that objective. Read more about the Centre-SBF MOU here.
Looking ahead
The Future of Trade Forum reinforced a fundamental point: the challenges confronting international trade cannot be addressed through policy, technology or regulatory compliance alone.
A resilient trading system also depends on the capabilities of the businesses, institutions and professionals operating within it.
For Singapore, maintaining its position as a trusted international trading hub will require continued investment not only in infrastructure, connectivity and digital systems, but also in the professional and institutional capabilities that enable trade to function effectively.
The Centre for Trade Excellence congratulates the Singapore Business Federation on convening a timely and substantive Forum. We look forward to building on the discussions and working with SBF and other partners to advance the capabilities, professional standards and cooperation that the future of trade demands.
The Guest of Honour was Ms Grace Fu, Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations. Mr Teo Chee Hean, Chairman of Temasek Holdings, participated in a luncheon fireside conversation on business and trade in a changing geopolitical and macroeconomic landscape.
Representatives from organisations including the World Trade Organization, and International Chamber of Commerce, contributed to discussions spanning trade policy, supply chain resilience, digitalisation and the evolving demands placed on businesses operating across borders.
Trade in an increasingly fragmented world
A central theme running through the Forum was the growing complexity of the international trading environment.
For decades, businesses have organised their supply chains around the relative predictability of international trade rules, access to overseas markets and the efficiencies of global production networks. Today, those assumptions are being tested by geopolitical competition, industrial policies, trade restrictions and a widening range of national security considerations.
The consequences extend well beyond tariffs and market access. Export controls, sanctions, investment restrictions, supply chain due diligence and requirements concerning the origin and provenance of goods increasingly influence where businesses source, manufacture, invest and trade.
For businesses, the challenge is therefore not simply to respond to individual regulatory developments. It is to understand how changes in trade policy, geopolitics and economic security may affect their commercial relationships and operating models.
The discussions underscored the importance of resilience: the ability to anticipate disruption, adapt to changing conditions and maintain access to markets without compromising regulatory obligations or commercial competitiveness.
Trade compliance as a strategic capability
The Forum's discussions on navigating trade compliance and maximising Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) highlighted the increasingly close relationship between regulatory compliance and commercial strategy.
FTAs continue to offer important opportunities for businesses through preferential tariffs, improved market access and more predictable trading arrangements. Yet realising these benefits requires an understanding of rules of origin, customs requirements and the documentary evidence needed to substantiate preferential claims.
At the same time, businesses must contend with obligations that extend beyond traditional customs and tariff considerations.
Export controls, sanctions, forced labour restrictions and supply chain due diligence requirements increasingly demand a deeper understanding of the parties, goods, technologies and activities involved in international transactions.
This has important implications for how businesses organise their compliance functions. A certificate or declaration may establish what has been represented about a transaction, but it does not necessarily establish what occurred throughout the supply chain. Effective compliance increasingly depends on the ability to verify information, identify inconsistencies and connect evidence across commercial, logistical and regulatory processes.
Trade compliance can therefore no longer be regarded solely as an administrative function concerned with satisfying individual regulatory requirements. It is becoming an essential component of enterprise risk management, supply chain governance and strategic decision-making.
Digitalisation, trust and the future of cross-border trade
Digitalisation was another important dimension of the Forum.
Digital tools have considerable potential to reduce the administrative burden of international trade, improve access to information and help businesses navigate complex regulatory requirements. Their value, however, depends not only on technological capability but also on the reliability of the underlying information and the ability of different systems and institutions to work together.
SBF's launch of its Trade AI Advisor (TAIA), designed to help businesses access guidance on Singapore's FTAs, illustrated the opportunities for technology to make trade-related information more accessible.
Beyond access to information, the broader challenge is to develop trusted digital trade environments in which businesses and public authorities can exchange, verify and rely on information more efficiently.
For a major trading hub such as Singapore, progress in digital trade will depend on the development of interoperable systems, credible standards and the institutional arrangements needed to support confidence in cross-border transactions.
Building the capabilities that future trade requires
While policy and technology featured prominently throughout the Forum, an equally important question concerned the capabilities of the people and institutions responsible for navigating this changing environment.
As trade regulation becomes more interconnected, practitioners increasingly require expertise that extends beyond traditional functional boundaries. Customs, trade policy, export controls, sanctions, procurement, supply chain management, technology and sustainability can no longer be approached entirely in isolation.
Businesses need professionals who can recognise these connections, assess their implications and translate regulatory requirements into sound operational decisions.
This places greater importance on professional standards, structured competency development and learning pathways that reflect the realities of modern international trade.
It also calls for closer cooperation between industry, educational institutions, professional bodies and public authorities in developing the skills and institutional capabilities needed to sustain an open and resilient trading system.
Centre for Trade Excellence and SBF to advance professional standards
A significant milestone for the Centre was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Business Federation during the Forum, at a ceremony witnessed by Minister Grace Fu and senior SBF representatives.
The collaboration provides a basis for the two organisations to explore opportunities to strengthen professional standards and capability development in trade and investment.
Areas of potential cooperation include the alignment of competency frameworks, professional development pathways, recognition of learning, industry-relevant programmes and regional capability building.
Of particular significance is the opportunity to examine how trade-related competencies and professional pathways can become more coherent and relevant across different markets and institutional settings.
The Centre's ambition is not simply to expand the availability of training. It is to contribute to a more structured approach to professional development, one that connects knowledge, practical competencies and institutional needs.
The collaboration with SBF represents an important step towards that objective. Read more about the Centre-SBF MOU here.
Looking ahead
The Future of Trade Forum reinforced a fundamental point: the challenges confronting international trade cannot be addressed through policy, technology or regulatory compliance alone.
A resilient trading system also depends on the capabilities of the businesses, institutions and professionals operating within it.
For Singapore, maintaining its position as a trusted international trading hub will require continued investment not only in infrastructure, connectivity and digital systems, but also in the professional and institutional capabilities that enable trade to function effectively.
The Centre for Trade Excellence congratulates the Singapore Business Federation on convening a timely and substantive Forum. We look forward to building on the discussions and working with SBF and other partners to advance the capabilities, professional standards and cooperation that the future of trade demands.
