Nearly seven years ago, I wrote a column for this newspaper in which I described a growing anxiety about the potential for an all-out global trade war.
In July 2018, there had already been an exchange of protectionist shots between the US and its economic rivals China and the EU. However, I tried to answer the following question: are tariffs pointless these days, given the realities of the global manufacturing supply chain?
This was before the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the expanding impact of extreme weather, and the emergence of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek. “We can pretend all we like that our borders protect us or insulate us from [external] forces, but they don’t. The idea of creating any kind of impenetrable wall – financial, physical or virtual – is obsolete,” I wrote at the time.
Back then, I believed that the approach the UAE was choosing – including its openness to attracting talent from around the world and harnessing the latest innovations, as well as prioritising international collaboration and partnerships – would put it in a strong position to benefit from a rapidly changing world. I still believe this to be true.
All countries can chart their own course within the chaos and find willing partners if they remain open and clear-sighted
Since 2021, the country has been able to strengthen bilateral trade relationships even as the global scene has fractured and bodies such as the World Trade Organisation struggle to revamp globalisation. The UAE has signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements – or Cepas – with other countries that provide greater market access, lower tariffs and simplify doing business. The countries included India, Colombia, Australia, Israel and Indonesia. More deals are under discussion.
The Cepa deals have contributed Dh135 billion ($37 billion) to its non-oil trade with partner nations – a 42 per cent increase compared to the previous year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said on Wednesday on X. “While global trade grew by just 2 per cent in 2024, the UAE’s foreign trade expanded at seven times that rate, achieving an impressive 14.6 per cent growth,” he said. “In 2021, we set a goal of reaching Dh4 trillion in annual foreign trade by 2031. By the end of 2024, we have already achieved 75 per cent of that target. At this pace, we will reach it years ahead of schedule.”
The International Monetary Fund has projected a 5.1 per cent growth in the UAE’s real gross domestic product this year. The investment banking company UBS says this expansion is supported by reforms and tourism, property, increased government capital spending and robust foreign direct investment. In an age of AI, both the public and private sectors are collaborating with international partners to ensure that the Emirates is not left behind.
Further, at Cop28, hosted by the UAE, the first ever “trade day” was launched, making it clear how important it is to factor in climate when setting trade policies. “Climate and trade policies need to work together,” UN Trade and Development Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan said in December 2023. “As the world is coping with the devastating effects of global warming, it’s time for trade to play its role in shaping climate action that fosters inclusive and sustainable development.”
That move represented a new kind of collaborative leadership.
Under Donald Trump’s presidency, America – the world’s largest economy – is effectively saying that it is stepping back from any kind of guiding role on the journey towards a more prosperous future for all. It is a unilateral policy at a time when, as highlighted above, we are beset by the same challenges wherever we are and seek a collaborative solution.
Mr Trump’s announcement of tariffs on Chinese goods has served to push further away any chance of such a solution, with China filing a complaint with the WTO and levying its own tariffs. American tariffs on its major trading partners Mexico and Canada have been paused for now, but they could materialise within weeks, until then hanging around like a warmth-sapping cloud in the sky. The EU, meanwhile, is expecting to be targeted as well, and it is making plans for how it might reply.
Unsurprisingly, all of this has caused uncertainty and affected the prices of commodities including oil, roiling stock markets and making it less likely that interest rates will fall as quickly as expected. There are growing concerns that these actions will cause inflation. Yet there is hope that it is not inevitable that every other nation should be dragged into what threatens to become a trade war. The example of the UAE should make that plain.
All countries can chart their own course within the chaos and find willing partners if they remain open and clear-sighted. It is comforting that trade, historically at least, only grows – even if it can be an uneven and non-linear expansion. Not just in goods but in particular services, people and companies will always want more of what they need. It is evident how resilient that has been and how supply chains can evolve and be reworked, no matter how choppy the waters might become.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
