In the past 48 hours, the foreign trade e-commerce industry has continued to diverge in the context of tightening compliance and geopolitical competition.
The core dynamics of each platform are showing different trends. At the same time, new domestic fiscal and taxation policies have been implemented, and overseas supervision has also taken new actions.
Coupang is facing a dilemma from internal and external attacks, with both political and compliance risks rising.
The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has intervened to investigate South Korea’s supervision of Coupang, accusing South Korea of “discriminatory supervision and favoring local rivals.” It has issued a subpoena to Coupang, requiring it to attend a closed hearing on February 23 and submit all communication documents with the South Korean government in recent years.
Official data from South Korea shows that from 2021 to January 2026, there were 458 Coupang-related disputes, ranking first on the platform, with a surge of 4.8 times in five years, and the dispute mediation rate was only 54.2%.
This means that platform policies are likely to fluctuate violently, Korean supervision continues to tighten, and sellers need to be wary of performance and account risks.
While Amazon is aggressively attacking the Latin American market, it is also investing in AI infrastructure.
Since February 17, the Mexico station has significantly reduced FBA fees, with an average reduction of about US$1 per item, in an effort to seize the Latin American market; the Brazilian station has launched FBA preferential rates, free delivery fees for high unit prices, open to micro-individual sellers, and has rapidly expanded the number of states covered.
Global GMV will reach US$830 billion in 2025, with third-party sellers accounting for 69%, becoming the main force in growth.
It plans to invest US$200 billion in AWS and AI chips in 2026. The market is worried about cash flow in the short term, but is optimistic about technology dividends in the long term.
For sellers, the reduction in fees in Mexico is good for profits, but they need to be alert to the cost transmission pressure of the platform.
Temu is experiencing compliance pains. It landed in Türkiye but faced lawsuits in Europe.
Türkiye restarted business, established a local entity WhaleCo as an importer, resumed shipments, set minimum consumption to cover customs clearance costs, and responded to the new policy of canceling tax exemptions for low-value goods.
However, it was sued by UPS in Europe to recover 37 million euros in shipping costs. The case is expected to be heard in May, and there is still the possibility of mediation between the two parties.
In addition, Pinduoduo’s entities were severely punished for failing to submit tax-related information as required, showing a clear regulatory signal.
Temu is shifting from rapid expansion to compliance restructuring, with full-chain responsibilities being consolidated and costs and risks rising.
TikTok Shop continues to expand while strictly controlling content.
It has been accused of violating the Digital Services Act with its addictive design, and may face a fine of up to 6% of global revenue; it has clearly defined three restricted areas for AIGC content in Southeast Asia, and strictly prohibits AI fraud, false effects, and tragic marketing.
However, it has also launched a smart promotion plan, promising 5 times ROI; the brand hosting has been upgraded to support country-specific pricing and scenario-based settlement.
TikTok Shop Local was launched in Japan to support local specialty products. The model has been verified in many markets.
While content compliance thresholds are rising, refined operational tools continue to improve.
New tax-free return policy for domestic three departments (Announcement No. 16) on January 1, 2026 –
Implemented on December 31, 2027, applicable to exports of 1210/9610/9710/9810. Due to unsalable/returned goods returned in the same condition within 6 months (excluding food), import duties and value-added tax/consumption tax will be exempted, and export duties levied can be refunded.
However, there are three red lines that need to be paid attention to. The first is to return the goods in the original condition, no processing or modification is allowed, and only necessary operations such as unpacking and inspection are allowed. The second is to make up for the refund first. Tax refunds must be paid first, and the tax exemption is applied for with the certificate. The third is that the materials are authentic and unsaleable. You need to declare yourself. Returns need to be recorded on the platform and bear legal responsibility.
It is recommended that sellers immediately establish a return shipping account and image retention, and provide simultaneous training in finance, customs declaration, and operations.
In terms of overseas supervision, starting from March 1, Russia prohibits pure foreign language advertisements without Russian translation. E-commerce pages, copywriting, and materials must be rectified. Russian language is given priority, and the font size is not smaller than the foreign language. The maximum fine for violations is 500,000 rubles.
Except for trademarks and business names, it is recommended to arrange unregistered trademarks as soon as possible.
From the perspective of trend analysis, the normalization of geopolitics has made platforms become national game chips, and it is urgent to decentralize the main platforms and the market; compliance is comprehensively compacted, and operating results are traced back to the main responsibilities, and the fuzzy operating space disappears; emerging markets such as Latin America, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia have become the main increase in platforms and sellers; content and AI are strongly regulated, and the entire link of creation, marketing, and product information is standardized.
Sellers should take action immediately. Coupang sellers should pay close attention to the hearing on February 23 to strictly control disputes and account security; Amazon sellers will recalculate the profit model for the Mexican station; Temu sellers will adjust prices in Turkey to control European shipping risks; the entire platform will complete self-examination of return shipping tax exemption compliance and rectification of the Russian market copywriting.
