2026 is poised to be another rocky year for global trade

Merchandise trade across the world held up relatively well despite tariff tensions

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The global trading system, which is finishing up one of its most transformational years of the past century, heads into another facing more challenges to stability and growth.

Data cited this week by shipping industry veteran John McCown show global container volumes grew 2.1 per cent in October from a year earlier.

Yet beneath the overall resilience are shifting undercurrents: The US saw a 8 per cent contraction in inbound volumes, while imports into Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and India all showed robust growth.