Carlos Mendez 
Indonesia’s four largest marketplaces began withholding 0.5% income tax from sellers on October 1, a month ahead of the announced schedule. Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada and Blibli now deduct at source, with an exemption for merchants under Rp 500 million a year who file a declaration.
CBP deploys CAPE Phase 3 on October 6, 2026, opening its refund system to finally liquidated entries holding roughly $11.4 billion in IEEPA duties. Only Court of International Trade plaintiffs with reliquidation orders and an importer of record number filed by July 30 can use it.
CBP’s delayed compliance period for international mail ends on October 22, 2026, removing partner government agency goods, Chapter 98 and 99 shipments and free trade agreement claims from the postal informal entry process. The cutover lands roughly six weeks before the Christmas delivery peak.
Korea Fair Trade Commission chair Ju Biung-ghi said on September 21 the agency will rewrite its investigation rules after a court stayed its Coupang inspection through September 23, and rejected US House pressure over the case. The dispute ties a supplier-cost probe to a Section 301 petition, a House report and a USD 410 million privacy fine.
A federal court has approved a revised FTC order that lifts the Amazon Prime settlement refund cap from $51 to $200 and opens automatic payments to members who used 11 to 20 benefits a year. New payments begin October 1, 2026, with no claim form required.
Amazon has raised its minimum starting wage for full-time US operations employees to $20 an hour and paired the $1.5 billion raise with a 10-20% grocery discount from October 1 and a lifetime credit union membership. The move matches Costco and lands three weeks before Prime Big Deal Days.
Belgian customs logged 53% fewer low-value parcel declarations in July and Dutch customs 46% fewer across July and August after the EU’s EUR 3 flat duty took effect on July 1, 2026. Both agencies say the goods are shifting to bulk import and EU warehouses ahead of a November 1 handling fee.
Kroger beat on adjusted EPS at $1.09 but identical sales without fuel grew just 0.2% in the quarter to August 15, and the grocer cut its 2026 sales outlook to 0.2-0.8%. Profit guidance, a $1bn buyback and a 20% e-commerce gain cushion the miss ahead of an October 20 investor update.
Primark will offer home delivery in Great Britain for the first time, ending a store-only model it defended for two decades. ABF has bought an automated Sheffield fulfilment centre from Debenhams Group for £90m to run it, but has not said when the service launches.
Announced US retail seasonal hiring is likely to set another record low when Challenger reports in late September 2026, at or below last year’s 372,520. The more useful call is that the headline will likely overstate the real contraction, because retail’s announcement channel is going dark faster than its labor demand is falling.