In the past 48 hours, the cross-border e-commerce industry has undergone rapid changes, showing a clear trend of differentiation.
Each major platform faces different opportunities and challenges in different markets. At the same time, the new domestic fiscal and tax policies have also brought new benefits to cross-border e-commerce sellers.
First, let’s look at the core dynamics of each major platform.
TikTok Shop has achieved a historic breakthrough in the Vietnamese market. According to the Metric Spring Festival Shopping Behavior Report, in the six weeks from December 15, 2025 to January 25, 2026, TikTok Shop’s sales in Vietnam reached 34.6 trillion VND, while Shopee’s sales in the same period were 33.1 trillion VND. For the first time, TikTok Shop became the e-commerce platform with the highest sales in Vietnam during this period.
The total scale of Vietnam’s e-commerce is VND67.7 trillion, with 542 million items sold. TikTok Shop’s growth rate is more than twice that of Shopee, and sales on non-major sales days are more stable.
Products with the theme of the Year of the Horse are hot-selling, with sales reaching 251.4 billion VND, a year-on-year increase of 106%.
However, TikTok Shop also faces some policies and risks. For example, the European Union has initially determined that its infinite scrolling and auto-playing design are addictive, and it is suspected of violating the Digital Services Act, and may be fined up to 6% of global revenue.
Temu’s global compliance process has accelerated, and the customs clearance problem in Türkiye has been officially solved.
It established a local company WhaleCo in Turkey, which is directly responsible for customs clearance. Users place an order and pay the tax without additional operations. This breaks the previous limit of 30 euros for overseas shopping, but sets a minimum order amount of 580 Turkish Lira, and the goods are still shipped from overseas.
However, in Europe, Temu faces dual compliance pressures. The Polish Digital Tax Plan levies taxes on platforms whose annual income exceeds the standard. Temu has 19.9 million users in Poland, surpassing the local giant Allegro for the first time.
In addition, UPS sued Temu Europe in Ireland to recover 37 million euros in freight arrears, and the case has entered judicial proceedings.
Amazon has been vigorously reducing fees in the Latin American market. Since February 17, Amazon has reduced fees per item by an average of approximately US$1 on February 17. In Brazil, FBA fees are waived for items exceeding R$100 within two months, and low-priced items only charge R$5 per item.
However, in the United States, the FBA removal fee rules that sellers are concerned about have changed significantly. Since February 15, FBA warehouse transfer/disposal fees have been changed from “billing by batch” to separate deductions for each item. This has actually greatly increased the seller’s reconciliation workload. In 2026, many FBA fees in the US station will also be increased, and the average logistics cost of a single item will increase by US$0.08.
Coupang is under pressure from both litigation and investigation.
The deadline to apply for the lead plaintiff in the U.S. class action lawsuit is February 17, accusing the platform of concealing cybersecurity vulnerabilities and regulatory risks.
Interim CEO Harold Rogers was criminally investigated for perjury at a congressional hearing and was approved for equity incentives worth approximately US$4.58 million.
Domestically, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation issued Announcement No. 16 of 2026, extending the tax-free policy for cross-border export returns to December 31, 2027.
Export goods under the 1210/9610/9710/9810 supervision code are exempt from import duties, value-added tax, and consumption tax if they are returned to the country in their original condition within 6 months due to unsaleable or returned goods, and export duties paid will be refunded.
However, sellers need to pay attention to some key compliance points, such as original condition requirements, make up first and then back off, and retain materials, etc.
From the perspective of industry trends, content e-commerce dominates the Southeast Asian market. TikTok Shop Vietnam’s overtaking is a landmark event. Short videos + live broadcasts have irreversible advantages in festivals, fashion, and trend products.
Compliance costs in the European market have increased across the board, and digital taxes, transportation litigation, and customs clearance have been tightened. Going overseas has entered a stage of “high compliance and high costs” in Europe.
The “refined” management of the platform essentially moves sellers’ costs upward, and Amazon’s adjustment to billing rules is a typical example.
Fiscal and tax compliance has also become the bottom line for sellers to survive. Return shipments are tax-free, export tax rebate deadlines have been tightened, and full-chain traceability has become standard.
For sellers, TikTok Shop sellers should focus on short video content, lay out beauty, women’s clothing, children’s clothing, and holiday-themed products, and quickly test smart promotion plans; Temu sellers can focus on Turkey as an emerging market and pay close attention to Polish digital tax; Amazon sellers should immediately adapt to the new FBA per-piece billing rules, optimize the reconciliation process, and seize the fee reduction window in Mexico and Brazil to increase investment in Latin America.
Sellers on all platforms must check whether goods returned for export since 2026 are within 6 months, keep in mind the rule that tax refunds must be paid first and then returned tax-free, and complete customs declaration forms, return records, declaration documents and other materials shall be retained.
