Journal Press India^®

Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

This study explores how technology-driven disruption influences sustainability and competitiveness in international trade, with a focus on the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. Uneven technological advancement among nations poses a major challenge that could destabilize trade systems, reduce efficiency, and widen economic disparities if not addressed. As such, this research consolidates empirical evidence on how AI and automation are reshaping global trade structures, labor markets, and production networks. In doing so, a systematic review of 25 peer-reviewed studies published between 2019 and 2025 was conducted using thematic and comparative analyses. The findings show how technology enhances productivity, reduces transaction and logistics costs, and expands opportunities for digital service exports. Nevertheless, limited access to advanced technologies may marginalize developing economies, disrupt supply chains, and intensify unemployment in traditional sectors. The study emphasizes that integrating intelligent and automated systems into trade operations is essential to achieving sustainable and inclusive growth. It concludes by recommending adaptive policy frameworks, skills development, and equitable technology diffusion to ensure stability, resilience, and sustainability in the evolving global trading environment.

Keywords

Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Technology-Driven, Sustainability, Trade in Services, Trade Policy

1. Aaronson, S. A. (2019). Data is different, and that’s why the world needs a new approach to governing cross-border data flows. Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, 21(5). https://doi.org/10.1108/DPRG-03-2019-0021
2. Basak, T., Rahman, A., Sadekin, M. N., & Ali, K. S. (2025). Evaluating the effects of exchange rate volatility on knitwear export performance to assess economic growth in Bangladesh. Discover Sustainability, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01385-5
3. Batarseh, F. A., Gopinath, M., Monken, A., & Gu, Z. (2021). Public policymaking for international agricultural trade using association rules and ensemble machine learning. Machine Learning with Applications, 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mlwa.2021.100046
4. Burri, M. (2020). How Should the WTO Respond to the Data-driven Economy. In Modernizing the World Trade Organization Essay Series.
5. Burri, M. (2020). Understanding the implications of artificial intelligence for trade policy. World Trade Review, 19(1), 45–67.
6. Chang, Y., Iakovou, E., & Shi, W. (2020). Blockchain in global supply chains and cross border trade: a critical synthesis of the state-of-the-art, challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Production Research, 58(7). https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2019.1651946
7. Ditsiou, A., Siskos, E., & Darvidou, K. (2023). EFFICIENCY OF THE INTRA-EU TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES: GEOGRAPHICAL AND PRODUCT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 21(2). https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.21(2).2023.59
8. Hall, J., Matos, S., & Langford, C. (2019). The business case for sustainability in global value chains. Journal of Business Research, 101, 332–341.
9. Hall, R. P., Ashford, R., Ashford, N. A., & Arango-Quiroga, J. (2019). Universal basic income and inclusive capitalism: Consequences for sustainability. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164481
10. Ishikawa, J. (2021). Digital trade and regional integration under RCEP. Asia-Pacific Economic Review, 28(3), 210–229.
11. Ishikawa, K. (2021). The ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN economic integration. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/24761028.2021.1891702
12. Jones, E., & Adam, C. (2023). New frontiers of trade and trade policy: digitalization and climate change. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/grac048
13. Kim, H. C. (2024). Industrial Digital Transformation and A Proposal to Rebuild Digital Trade Agenda. Journal of World Trade, 58(1). https://doi.org/10.54648/trad2024004
14. Lebid, I., Luzhanska, N., Lebid, I., Mazurenko, A., Halona, I., Horban, A., Mykhailenko, I., Medvediev, I., & Sotnikova, T. (2023). CONSTRUCTION OF A SIMULATION MODEL OF GOODS DELIVERY IN INTERNATIONAL ROAD TRANSPORTATION TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE FUNCTIONING EFFICIENCY OF LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 3(3(123)). https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2023.280886
15. Lewis, L. T., Monarch, R., Sposi, M., & Zhang, J. (2022). Structural Change and Global Trade. Journal of the European Economic Association, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvab024
16. Malatji, E. (2024). Technological inequality and trade sustainability in developing economies. Global Trade and Policy Journal, 17(2), 88–104.
17. Malatji, M. (2024). Accelerating the African continental free trade area through optimization of digital supply chains. Engineering Reports, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.12711
18. Maulina, E., Purnomo, M., Rizki, A., Rizal, M., Wicaksono, A. R., Program, D., Raya, J., Sumedang, B., 21, K. M., Jatinangor, K., Sumedang, K., & Barat, J. (2020). Analysis of the Use of Artificial Intelligence Technology on Digital Startups in Indonesia. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(3).
19. McKinsey and Company. (2019). Globalization in transition: The future of trade and global value chains - Executive Summary. McKinsey Global Institute, January.
20. Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLOS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
21. Moses, O., Ngui, D., Engel, L., & Kedir, A. (2024). China-Africa Economic Bulletin 2024 EDITION. April.
22. Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1–13.
23. OECD. (2023). Artificial intelligence and international trade: Opportunities and policy challenges. OECD Publishing.
24. OECD. (2023). Trade in goods and services (indicator). OECD Data.
25. Peng, S. (2020). The legal framework for artificial intelligence in the CPTPP. Journal of International Economic Law, 23(4), 815–835.
26. Peng, S. Y. (2020). A new trade regime for the servitization of manufacturing: Rethinking the goods-services dichotomy. Journal of World Trade, 54(5). https://doi.org/10.54648/trad2020030
27. Sawadogo, F., & Wandaogo, A. A. (2021). Does mobile money services adoption foster intra-African goods trade? Economics Letters, 199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109681
28. Sawadogo, L., & Wandaogo, F. (2021). Technology adoption and trade integration in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Economic Studies, 9(2), 115–131.
29. Simo, D. (2020). AI governance and trade equality in developing economies. International Trade Policy Quarterly, 11(1), 32–49.
30. Simo, R. Y. (2020). Trade in Services in the African Continental Free Trade Area: Prospects, Challenges and WTO Compatibility. Journal of International Economic Law, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgz031
31. Smirnov, E. N., & Lukyanov, S. A. (2019). Development of the global market of artificial intelligence systems. Economy of Regions, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.17059/2019-1-5
32. Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
33. Tay, C. (2020). Comparison of the impact of information and communication technology between bilateral trade in goods and services. Journal of System and Management Sciences, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.33168/jsms.2020.0101
34. Tay, K. (2023). Policy coordination for digital and sustainable trade. Global Policy Review, 14(2), 64–79.
35. Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207–222.
36. UNCTAD. (2022). Global Trade Update. United Nations Publication.
37. World Economic Forum. (2020). Mapping TradeTech: Trade in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum, December, 47.
38. Yin, R., & Choi, M. (2023). Evaluating automation impacts on export performance: Evidence from emerging markets. Journal of World Business, 58(1), 101–122.
39. Yin, Z. H., & Choi, C. H. (2023). The effects of China’s cross-border e-commerce on its exports: a comparative analysis of goods and services trade. Electronic Commerce Research, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-021-09483-y
40. Zhang, L., & Shang, K. K. (2019). The wto disciplines and trade in products powered by artificial intelligence: old wine and new wine-skin? Journal of East Asia and International Law, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2019.12.1.02
41. Zhang, L., & Shang, Y. (2019). National strategies for AI and trade competitiveness. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 146, 712–723.