The foreign trade market on May 28, 2026 can be said to be full of opportunities and challenges.
The following brings you today’s foreign trade news.
In terms of domestic and foreign trade dynamics, there have been many important developments.
First, China and the United States achieved a major breakthrough in tariff negotiations.
On May 28, the Ministry of Commerce officially announced that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the Sino-US economic and trade teams completed in-depth communication and finalized bilateral tariff optimization arrangements.
Both parties have agreed in principle to implement reciprocal tax reductions on scales of US$30 billion and above, and will later refine the specific tax items, tax rates and implementation time through the Trade Council to promote the implementation of the policy as soon as possible.
This reciprocal tax reduction covers mass export categories such as mechanical and electrical products, light industry, home furnishings, and agricultural products. It will effectively reduce the cost of exports to the United States and ease tariff pressure. It is the biggest policy benefit for China-US trade this year.
In response to the EU’s proposed trade protection measures to implement new tariffs on steel imports and impose restrictions on Chinese steel products from July 1, the Ministry of Commerce has made it clear that the new EU policies will seriously impact China-EU steel trade and disrupt the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain.
At present, China has launched special negotiations with the EU within the WTO framework and is striving for a win-win result to protect domestic export enterprises of steel products, hardware and building materials, and steel structures, and ease export pressure on the EU market in the second half of the year.
The General Administration of Customs also has the latest regulatory adjustments. It will consolidate the main responsibilities of customs brokers and foreign trade enterprises, comprehensively strengthen the substantive review obligations of customs declarations, and focus on strictly investigating violations such as under-reporting prices, false product names, paid exports, and document inconsistencies.
Recently, the national port inspection rate and the frequency of audit inspections have increased simultaneously, and penalties such as credit downgrade, fines, and return of shipments will be imposed on enterprises that violate regulations.
Foreign trade companies need to immediately standardize the customs declaration process, ensure that orders and goods are consistent, and eliminate compliance risks.
Chongqing’s “Asia-Europe Express” was fully and regularly launched on May 28, establishing a three-dimensional cross-border logistics network that connects Europe to the west, Russia to the north, and ASEAN to the south.
At present, three main lines have been stably opened to Duisburg, Moscow, and Almaty in Germany, radiating to more than 40 node cities in Europe and Asia. The entire transportation time is stable at 20-25 days, the transportation distance is controllable, and the schedule is intensive. It has greatly optimized the logistics channels for the export of mechanical and electrical machinery, auto parts, and daily necessities in the central and western regions to Europe and Central Asia.
The latest economic data shows that in April, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide increased by 24.7% year-on-year, maintaining rapid growth for two consecutive months.
Upstream raw materials, equipment manufacturing, and high-end manufacturing industries lead profits, and the resilience of foreign trade-related physical industries continues to increase, providing solid production capacity support for the delivery of foreign trade orders, production capacity release, and new products going overseas in the second half of the year.
In terms of international foreign trade dynamics, the US OFAC’s latest announcement has included four Chinese entities in the Specially Designated National Sanctions List (SDN List). The restricted entities will have their US capital frozen and prohibited from conducting any trade and financial transactions with US institutions and enterprises.
Foreign trade companies need to immediately self-examine their upstream and downstream cooperation supply chains, avoid cooperation with sanctions-related entities, prevent orders, settlements, and port customs clearance from being jointly affected, and isolate supply chain risks.
The European Union’s non-food rapid warning system issued a notification that multiple batches of plastic toys exported from China were intercepted and notified due to substandard safety standards.
Recently, the EU has tightened inspections on light industrial consumer goods, toys, and household products, focusing on testing safety materials, flame retardant standards, and heavy metal content.
Relevant export companies must strictly benchmark against EU CE standards and submit products for inspection and compliance in advance to avoid goods return, destruction, and fines.
Since the implementation of full zero-tariff coverage between China and Africa on May 1, nearly 9,000 domestic tax items can be exported to 53 African countries duty-free, and import demand in markets such as South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya has been rapidly released.
At present, exports of light industrial daily necessities, mechanical and electrical equipment, agricultural machinery products, building materials and other urgently needed categories are growing rapidly. Africa has become the core blue ocean track for foreign trade companies to hedge against European and American market barriers and open up growth.
The Corban holiday in mainstream Middle Eastern markets such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar is coming to an end, and customs clearance, bank settlement, and corporate procurement will fully resume work and production starting tomorrow.
The pre-holiday backlog of orders, pending payment, and goods awaiting customs clearance will be released intensively. Demand for new energy, engineering machinery, building materials, and home furnishing procurement in the Middle East is strong. Foreign trade companies can follow up with customers in a timely manner and seize the post-holiday return order bonus.
Today’s overall positive effects on foreign trade are outstanding. China and the United States have achieved substantial breakthroughs in reciprocal tax cuts, which will reduce pressure on trade with the United States throughout the year. Domestic industrial profits have increased sharply, Eurasian logistics channels have been upgraded, and the dividends of zero tariffs in China and Africa have continued to be released.
At the same time, risks are stacking up simultaneously, including pressure from EU steel tax increases, US entity sanctions, strict customs inspections, and EU consumer product compliance tightening.
It is recommended that foreign trade companies: Seize the window period for Sino-U.S. tax reductions to place orders for the United States; comprehensively sort out the supply chain to avoid sanctions risks; strictly regulate customs declaration and product compliance; focus on following up on post-holiday orders in the Middle East and blue ocean growth in Africa, and steadily grasp the pace of foreign trade recovery in the second half of the year.
