While Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds transformative potential for global digital trade, its commercial deployment in developing economies remains heavily constrained by an institutional bottleneck: regulatory ambiguity. Drawing upon Institutional Theory and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, this paper conceptualizes legal certainty not merely as a compliance mandate, but as a foundational catalyst for AI adoption in emerging e-commerce markets. Unlike developed digital economies operating under mature statutory infrastructures, digital merchants in developing nations navigate fragmented legal regimes regarding algorithmic liability, automated decision-making, and cross-border data privacy. We argue that this institutional void inflates perceived transaction costs, forcing e-commerce enterprises into a state of "technological conservatism." By synthesizing recent socio-legal developments and commercial digital trade patterns across emerging markets, this study demonstrates that transparent regulatory frameworks mitigate systemic liability risks, specifically concerning generative AI pricing algorithms and consumer data profiling, thereby fostering enterprise trust. Ultimately, this paper challenges the prevailing Silicon Valley paradigm that "regulation stifles innovation"; instead, it posits that for developing digital economies, establishing predictable legal certainty is the mandatory prerequisite for scaling sustainable, AI-driven digital trade.

Keywords: Regulatory Trust Legal Certainty Artificial Intelligence Adoption Digital Trade Governance E Commerce Ecosystems