In our latest quarterly issue: Progress on implementing MLETR-aligned legislation recognizing eBLs and other negotiable instruments, challenges & opportunities around scaling digital trade through interoperability, growing trade community concerns amid ongoing tariff uncertainty, paperless trade milestones achieved across the globe + much more! + SUBSCRIBE

Industry News & Views

New York adopts UCC Article 12, modernising law for digital asset transfers and electronic records: The addition of Article 12 to the UCC encompasses digital assets, virtual currencies, and other emerging technologies, defining controllable electronic records that align with global standards and enhance New York’s role in digital trade (source: TTP).

Dutch government unveils MLETR-lite digital trade bill: The Netherlands has tabled reforms to recognise the validity of electronic bills of lading, introducing a draft bill which, if it becomes law, will make it the fourth European country to recognise eBLs, alongside France, Germany and the UK (source: GTR).

DTI drives paperless trading with workshop on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR): The Philippines' Dept. of Trade & Industry hosted a national workshop on MLETR to discuss benefits and challenges of adopting, aiming to align the country with global digital trade standards and enhance efficiency and transparency (source: DTI Philippines).

Tata Steel Completes First Paperless Import Shipment Using Electronic Bill of Lading with Full Bank Integration: The milestone letter of credit transaction covering coal import into India was executed using ICE CargoDocs – involving Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, and Standard Chartered (source: Tata Steel).

The digital handshake: Building trust through interoperability in trade systems: An exploration into how interoperability is key to replacing paper-based processes with trusted, scalable digital alternatives – focusing on electronic bills of lading and highlighting recent notable real-world interoperable eBL transactions (source: Shipping and Freight Resource).

Whitepaper – From Silos to Seamless: Interoperability’s Role in Full-Scale eBL Adoption: Joint DCSA / S&P Global Journal of Commerce whitepaper highlights interoperability as the key to scalable eBL uptake particularly in the container shipping space, emphasizing the role of banks and common standards in driving adoption (source: DCSA via LinkedIn).

Adopting electronic bills of lading: successes, challenges and critical questions: UNESCAP staff working paper explores the current state of eBL adoption, stressing that adoption remains a business decision influenced by legal, technical, and institutional readiness, and featuring insights on key steps to be taken for broader eBL uptake (source: UNESCAP).

Tariffs provoke uncertainty for commodities as traders balk: Agriculture industry analysts weigh in on the rapidly shifting US tariffs landscape and retaliatory measures which are creating severe pricing volatility in global agricultural commodity markets (source: World Grain).

Trade finance demands drive digitisation: A corporate treasurer weighs in on how Asian corporates are increasingly prioritizing banks with strong digital capabilities for trade finance, while investing in digital tools like automation, AI, and data analytics to improve supply chain visibility, reduce costs, and enhance resilience (source: Treasury Today).

Trade finance banks in “wait and see” mode over Trump tariffs: Major global trade finance banks are preparing for potential revenue impacts from new US tariffs on China and China’s retaliatory tariffs, adopting a cautious stance as they monitor the evolving trade landscape (source: GTR).

IMO approves global shipping net-zero regulations: A major milestone in maritime decarbonization as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has approved draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, introducing an updated net-zero framework to cut international shipping emissions to net-zero by 2050 (source: Port Technology).

ICE Launches its first Futures Contracts Based on Battery Materials: Covering lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate, cobalt and spodumene futures, expanding the company’s energy and environmental markets – which represent the most liquid markets to trade these products – into critical minerals (source: Business Wire).

Navigating risks in global trade: The exporters’ perspective: Underscoring the need for exporters to stay agile, informed, and compliant in a rapidly evolving global trade environment, driven by growing risks from shifting regulations, geopolitical tensions, and stricter enforcement (source: Thomson Reuters).

PODCAST: Gordon Downes, CEO of NYSHEX, on Making Global Shipping Digital: NYSHEX CEO, Gordon Downes joins ICE COO, Stuart Williams in a recent 'Inside the ICE House' Podcast episode to share how NYSHEX, in partnership with ICE, is launching a new series of freight rate indices to reshape how the world moves goods (source: ICE).

Beyond Tariffs: Unseen drivers of global trade disruption: Exploring how global trade disruptions are increasingly driven by factors beyond traditional tariffs, like sudden geopolitical tensions, shifting alliances, and reactive regulations, that are creating friction not just in container yards and customs desks, but across entire economies (source: Shipping and Freight Resource).

How small businesses can navigate global trade in an era of polycrisis: Insights into global initiatives like the WTO’s Trade4MSMEs support programs, which aim to help MSMEs struggling with today’s 'poly crisis' and facing trade barriers such as limited financing and complex regulations (source: World Economic Forum).

China completes first fully digitalized bonded bunkering operation: China has completed its first fully digitalized bonded bunkering operation, marking a significant milestone in the country's maritime fuel supply sector (source: Safety4Sea).

Analysing the impact of sanctions and export controls on supply chains: Exploring how today’s globalised, on-demand supply chains rely on increasingly seamless cross-border movement of raw materials & goods and how sanctions and export controls present potential impediments that, if not managed properly, can imperil a company’s performance (source: GIR).

Key Misconceptions around Digitalising Trade & Trade finance – eBLs in Focus: ICE Digital Trade’s Nick Demetriou contributes to ICC UK’s latest issue of ‘Trade for Prosperity’, debunking 5 key eBL misconceptions alongside real-world examples of how companies are successfully navigating the digital shift (source: ICC UK via IDT).

ICE Digital Trade News

GIGA Shipping goes “100% paperless in 100 days” with ICE CargoDocs: Across all its Ocean and House bills of lading within just 100 days of going-live – leveraging the ICE CargoDocs LocalLaw eBL solution to digitize the 10,000+ BLs it processes annually for automotive cargos.

NYSHEX & ICE Digital Trade Member Forum & Index Day 2025: Highlights from a day filled with actionable insights on managing risk in global shipping, in-depth discussions on freight indices +more.

ICE Digital Trade in Numbers