TXF’s Global Trade Report 2022 is here

The TXF Global Trade Report 2022 is a snapshot of interviews and articles from the trade finance community, giving a broad view of what’s been top of mind this year.

• There have been steps forward, sideways and back in trade digitisation in 2022. Here we reflect on some of the developments in what has been a choppy year for certain blockchain-based solutions, and a more positive one for digital trade regulation. While comprehensive approaches have been important, there remains no magic switch to make global trade digital, and a challenge of building better mousetraps.
  
  
• Sustainability in trade has become a topic of crucial importance for all stakeholders, from financiers and multinational corporations to SME suppliers in emerging markets. New developments are enabling a greater understanding of the environmental, social and governance risks in the world’s supply chains. But translating this into action means harnessing data in new – and better – ways, says Enno-Burghard Weitzel, senior vice-president of strategy and business development at Surecomp.
  
  
• Robert Besseling, CEO of Pangea-Risk, says that elections, food, and natural gas will be the words to watch for Africa trade in 2023.
  
  
•  The International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) has unveiled a new set of industry rules that cover the transfer of electronic payment obligations, which can be used to support the finance of international trade. ITFA outlines how the rules prepare the market for the practicalities of the digital world.
  
  
• What is the current state of how corporates are interacting with banks and fintech platforms? Patrick DeVilbiss, Senior Offering Manager, Trade and Supply Chain Solutions, and Frank Tezzi, Vice President of Trade and Supply Chain, at CGI discuss what’s changed in 2022 and where the industry is heading. Where next for blockchain consortiums, API connectivity and omnichannel platforms? The days of walled gardens are over.  
  
  
• We're building bridges for digital trade and trade finance. But where is the map to hold us accountable? Michael Vrontamitis, deputy chair and member of the board of World Trade Board, and lead industry principal, lending at Finastra, looks at financial inclusion in trade and how to improve accountability.
  
  
• The sustainability and ESG agenda addresses existential risks. It is itself however, at serious risk. We are at a crossroads, and trade can influence the direction we take. Alexander Malaket, president at OPUS Advisory Services, gives his opinions on the challenges and the state of play.
  
  
• The early stages of a project by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to target money laundering within trade and trade finance has already begun to show results. Catherine Daza-Estrada, senior investment officer at the ADB’s Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP), outlines the progress of TSCFP in tackling suspicious transactions.
  
  
• Trade, finance and economics have been brought directly into the domain of warfare in 2022. Dr Rebecca Harding, independent economist, discusses the literal weaponisation of trade.
  
  
  Download the full report here