The UAE was the 11th largest global merchandise exporter in 2024, with exports reaching USD 603 bn, according to the World Trade Organization’s recent Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report (pdf). This marks a 6% y-o-y increase, with its position in the ranking up from 14th in the WTO’s 2023 report.

The country saw imports increase 14% y-o-y to USD 539 bn, ranking 14th in the world in terms of global imports — climbing up two spots when compared to the WTO’s 2023 report.

For services trade, the UAE held its place as the 13th largest global commercial exporter, with exports reaching USD 176 bn, up USD 11 bn from last year. Service trade imports dipped to USD 106 bn, down from USD 108 bn in 2023.

On the cards for the region: Growth in the Middle East’s commercial services exports is expected to plummet from 4.2% in 2024 to 1.7% in 2025 and further down to 1% in 2026. The region's merchandise exports, on the other hand, are expected to remain steady at 5.3% growth in 2025 and 5.1% in 2026. Meanwhile, merchandise imports are predicted to take a slight fall from 6.8% in 2024 to 6.3% in 2025, before rebounding to 6.7% next year.

Global trade to take a dip in 2025 on the back of tariffs: Merchandise trade is expected to contract by 0.2% in 2025, down from a 2.9% y-o-y surge in 2024 after WTO economists altered their baseline predictions — previously foreseeing 2.6% growth — following the implementation of new tariff measures since January. Commercial services trade is forecast to slump down to 4% this year, down from 6.8% in 2024.

… and is expected to see a resurgence in 2026, with merchandise trade forecast to spike up by 2.5% and commercial services trade to rise by 4.1%.

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