International trade, cross-border commerce, tariffs, customs, and global market dynamics.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hosts G20 trade ministers in Milwaukee from September 29 to October 1, with forced labor, the Most-Favored-Nation principle, food trade and excess capacity on the agenda. India’s Piyush Goyal attends as the bilateral trade deal nears completion at an 18% reciprocal tariff base.
Costco disclosed $184 million in IEEPA tariff refunds in its fiscal fourth quarter and said most of the money is going back into member prices. The disclosure is the clearest sign yet that the post-ruling refund wave is reaching shelf prices.
More than 200 importers, exporters and carriers have asked USTR to keep its Section 301 fees on China-linked vessels suspended past November 9. A lapse would add a per container charge to US import lanes just as first quarter 2027 buying is being priced.
The EU’s overhaul of its customs framework became law on September 21, 2026, creating an EU Customs Authority in Lille and making platforms the deemed importer for goods sold into the bloc. The next live deadline is an EU-wide handling fee on small parcels from November 1, layered on the EUR 3 flat duty already in force since July.
US Customs and Border Protection began voiding importer of record numbers with inaccurate Form 5106 data on September 18, and trade press reports thousands of cross-border shipments at risk. Here is who is exposed, what a voided number does to cargo, and how to get one reinstated.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the US-China Board of Trade has been operationalized after talks with Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York, with consumer goods and low-tech items from China first in line for tariff relief. Here is how the mechanism works, which tariff layers it can reach and what remains unresolved before the September 24 summit.
FedEx starts charging demand surcharges on US imports from Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean on September 21, 2026, and more than doubles its China and Asia-Pacific rates. Here is the full per-pound schedule, the lanes it replaces and what cross-border sellers should do before Monday.
Thirteen companies including Amazon, Costco, Walmart and Shein have asked the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to reject a cross-industry MDL over consumer tariff refund suits, CFO Dive reported September 18. The panel hears the separate Amazon tariff MDL in Chicago on September 24.
Xi Jinping is expected in Washington on September 24 for a state visit that puts the US-China tariff truce, a delayed 7.5 percent Section 301 duty and a USD 30 billion tariff-cut framework on the table. For retailers sourcing in China, it is the last scheduled political event before holiday pricing and 2027 orders lock in.
CBP told the Court of International Trade on September 15 that CAPE Phase 3, covering finally liquidated IEEPA entries, will deploy on October 6, 2026. Only plaintiffs with a court-ordered reliquidation can file, and $1.3 billion in approved refunds remains stuck for missing bank details.