During the period from March 28 to 31, 2026, many important events occurred in the cross-border e-commerce field.
In terms of headlines, the Russian Ministry of Finance drafts a new policy, 2027 –
In 2029, the import value-added tax will be raised from the current rate to 22% in three stages, and the tax-free threshold will be reduced from 100 euros to 50 euros (in 2027). In 2030, all tax-free platform withholding and payment models may be cancelled. Ozon, Wildberries, etc. will directly deduct taxes, and more than 330 million packages from Chinese sellers will be brought under control.
It is recommended that sellers select and upgrade products, comply with tax regulations, and arrange local warehouse distribution.
Amazon North America launched a large-scale account sweep for “WOOT fraud”. The wave of account bans lasted until late March. A large number of sellers’ accounts were blocked and funds were frozen. The brand connection mechanism was triggered, warning sellers that the risks of illegal operations are extremely high and compliance operations are the bottom line for survival.
The Temu audit has been fully upgraded, including that corporate bank verification has been changed from optional to mandatory, and account information must be completely consistent with the business license; video verification has been upgraded from recording and broadcasting to real-time calls with legal persons, with random questions and answers without a question bank; the entire link of withdrawal + address verification has been tightened, and repeated verification has become the norm, which has put pressure on small and medium-sized sellers and increased compliance costs significantly.
The platform’s new regulations are summarized as follows:
| Platform | Content of new regulations | Effective time | Impact level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | DD + 7 fund reservation policy will be implemented globally | Starting from March 5th | ⚠️️⚠️ |
| Amazon | France/Italy/Western Station levies digital service fee | Starting from March 20th | ⚠️️ |
| Amazon | Ending the “shared inventory” model | March 31 | ⚠️⚠️ |
| TikTok Shop | Japan station deposit from 70,000 → 150,000 yen | Starting from March 23 | ⚠️⚠️⚠️ |
| TikTok Shop | New rules for merchant account health rating (AHR) launched | End of March | ⚠️️ |
| Shopee | New rules for Singapore site performance management | Starting from March | ⚠️⚠️ |
| Temu | Public verification + real-time video review | Starting from March | ⚠️️⚠️ |
In terms of policy and regulatory dynamics, the General Administration of Customs launched a special campaign to facilitate cross-border trade in 45 cities, adding 20 new cities including Hohhot, Changchun, Suzhou, Wuhan, and Xi’an. There are 29 measures, including customs clearance supervision innovation, new business services, and logistics efficiency improvements, releasing a signal that customs clearance efficiency is improving but supervision is tightening at the same time.
The first “TIR + bonded” order was launched in the Qingdao Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone. It has the advantages of one vehicle to the end, no need for repeated inspections, and reduced capital occupation, providing a new channel for the layout of the “Belt and Road” market.
The US Customs SAFE Act forces cross-border e-commerce businesses to use real importers, and tens of thousands of cross-border sellers face customs clearance compliance challenges.
Cost and expense changes are as follows:
| Project | Change | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Russian import VAT | →22% (2029) | Loose profit model |
| USPS package surcharge | +8% (from April 26) | Rising logistics costs |
| TikTok Japan station deposit | 70,000 → 150,000 yen | Increased entry threshold |
| EU digital service fee | New levy | European site cost increase |
In terms of hot products and opportunities, TikTok’s fun and creative starter gun bottle opener in the US region has generated millions of GMV. The smart pet brand category has become a dark horse. The products are sold to more than 40 countries around the world. The selection of products for the 2026 World Cup is assisted by Amazon’s official product selection tool “Business Opportunity Detector”.
Risk warnings include tax compliance (Germany strictly inspects VAT from 2018 to 2021, Poland and the Czech Republic start VAT verification), account security (Amazon virtual identity verification, and new accounts in half a year are subject to AI “penetrating” review), origin verification (the General Administration of Customs strengthens the authenticity verification of the origin, and cracks down on “transit laundering of origin”), and children’s products compliance (Amazon Canada launches compliance review of children’s learning supplies).
Trend judgment shows that compliance means competitiveness (platform audits are becoming stricter and tax supervision is upgrading, it is recommended to arrange compliance qualifications in advance), logistics is asset-heavy (direct mail→warehouse distribution model is changing, it is recommended to deploy local/overseas warehouses), product selection upgrades (low prices are unsustainable, focus on high premium, high repurchase categories), content-driven (TikTok has shifted from shelf logic to content-driven, strengthening content creation capabilities), market diversification (Russia and the Belt and Road Initiative have become new hot spots, diversifying market risks).
The action suggestions are as follows: Immediately self-examine platform qualifications, tax compliance, and product classification; reserve funds to cope with fund reservation policies such as DD + 7; use multi-warehouse layout to reduce logistics costs and shorten delivery time; put compliance first to ensure that subject qualifications, bank accounts, and address information are true and consistent; pay attention to new policies and continue to track changes in rules of each platform.
