Good morning, nice people. We’re kicking off the week with a packed issue, with a spate of regulation, trade, and project updates from Saudi, Egypt, and the UAE.

Leading the news today is our deep dive into Saudi’s shakeup of the warehousing regulatory landscape, as a six-month new specs deadline expires this week. The new specs, alongside other regulatory mandates, are set to ramp up the supply of Grade A warehousing, which is currently in hot demand from international businesses — potentially unblocking a pipeline of stalled foreign investment.

PLUS: Egyptian steel is bracing for a de facto export freeze to the US following a new 29.51% countervailing duty, effectively bringing the tariff rate on the product to a staggering 80%. Meanwhile, DP World is deepening its footprint in India with a new inland logistics hub in Madhya Pradesh — a move that comes as the UAE capitalizes on its push to double trade with the Indian subcontinent.

The big logistics story abroad

US President Donald Trump has threatened Canada with a 100% tariff if it strikes a trade pact with China, accusing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of turning the US’ northern neighbor into a “Drop Off Port” for Chinese goods. The trade escalation comes days after Carney announced a partnership with Beijing — Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the US — to mutually reduce tariffs on certain products, including Chinese electric vehicles and Canadian agricultural products.

Watch this space

CUSTOMS — The Egyptian government is preparing to launch a fully automated export system on 1 April, two senior government officials tell EnterpriseAM. Based on the Unique Consignment Reference (UCR) and integrated into the Nafeza platform, the system is designed to slash customs clearance times from the current average of eight days to just 48 hours — and eventually to a matter of hours.

The move to say goodbye to paper-based procedures will bring 32 government entities, 130 customs entry points, 445 international shipping lines, and exporters onto one platform, one of the sources tells us. This integration will speed up approvals for the roughly 2k export certificates issued daily to just a matter of minutes, with exporters notified automatically of any updates, the source added.

The adoption of the World Customs Organization standard UCR system will also help Egypt manage risks more efficiently. The universal tracking ID for shipments will provide customs officials with a single audit trail from order to border and is expected to accelerate clearance times by helping Egypt move toward risk-based inspections, instead of blanket manual checks.

Why it matters: If the government is to hit its ambitious USD 145 bn annual export target by 2030, it must provide liquidity to exporters when they need it. Under the EGP 45 bn export support program in the current fiscal year, some exporters wait up to six months after the shipment leaves port before receiving any financial support, we were told. The new system — which we are told will also not result in additional fees for exporters — could enable export investments to be paid out immediately.

SUPPLY CHAINS — DP World to expand food supply infrastructure: DP World is doubling the size of Al Aweer Central Fruit and Vegetable Market into a 29 mn sq ft food trade hub, set to be rebranded as Dubai Food District, to boost the emirate’s food supply chain, according to a separate statement. The expansion will take place in phases, with construction on the first phase slated to begin in 2027.

The details: The new district will focus on fruits, vegetables, dairy, and gourmet staples and is set to include cold and temperature-controlled storage and food processing facilities.

This comes as Dubai’s role as a regional logistics hub has intensified demand across the retail and industrial sectors, creating a critical supply and demand imbalance. As of 3Q 2025, industrial space in the emirate reached a critical bottleneck, with a lack of available units and contract renewals surging as brands fight to retain existing locations.

DISRUPTION WATCH –– European carriers are tapping the brakes on Gulf flying, after a resurgence in US-Iran tensions following Trump’s remarks on Thursday that the US is sending a warship to the region. Major players, including Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, and KLM, paused flights to Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam over the weekend, citing security concerns about Iranian and Iraqi airspace.

The disruption is spreading: The disruption quickly spread beyond legacy carriers: Luxair, British Airways, and Transavia have also scrubbed Dubai-bound flights, effectively severing key flying arteries connecting Europe and the region. The disruption’s geographic reach also expanded, with IndiGo canceling flights bound to capitals in Central Asia and the South Caucasus areas.

Market watch

Oil prices were largely steady this morning despite weather-driven production disruptions in the US, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures were down USD 0.07 to trade at USD 65.81 / bbl as of 02:21 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased by USD 0.06 to USD 61.01 / bbl. The slight easing in rates comes after more than a 2% surge in the previous trading session.

Meanwhile, India is continuing its Gulf oil spree, as its top refiner picks up 1 mn barrels of Abu Dhabi’s Murban from Shell, and 2 mn of Upper Zakum from Mercuria for March loading, alongside other grades, Reuters reports, citing trade sources. The purchase comes as Indian refiners cut Russian intake to a two-year low, tilting back toward Middle East and Atlantic Basin barrels to stay sanctions-clean and protect re-export flows.

The Baltic Index steadies: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — inched up 0.1% to 1,762 points on Friday, stabilizing after a more than 2% drop the previous day. The capesize slipped 0.2% to 2,583 points, while the panamax index fell by 0.1% to 1,612. Meanwhile, the smaller supramax index added 7 points to hit 1,026.

The Drewry World Container Index decreased by 10% to USD 2,212 per 40-ft container last week, according to the latest index readings. The decline is driven by a drop across the transpacific and Asia-Europe rates, especially the Shanghai-New York (11%) and Shanghai-Los Angeles (12%) routes, after the easing of the Chinese New Year demand rush.

A further decline is expected in the upcoming few weeks, Drewry said. A decline is in line with forecasts of a supply glut in 2026 and 2027 that could drive a sharp dip in shipping prices, as the potential full return to the Suez Canal meets a record-breaking wave of new ship deliveries, shipowner association Bimco previously said in a report seen by EnterpriseAM.

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