Global tariff and tax system changes have been intensive over the past week: On the U.S. front, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate reciprocal tariffs on 237 categories of goods, including agricultural products, industrial raw materials, and electronic products, starting November 13. Meanwhile, he is pushing for imposing tariffs of up to 500% on countries maintaining energy trade with Russia, with China also in the potential scope.

Germany publicly endorsed the EU’s plan to raise import tariffs on Chinese steel to a maximum of 50% and reduce tax-exempt quotas, which will drive up the costs of Chinese steel products in the European market.

Vietnam announced the abolition of the unified e-commerce tax rate and will shift to a platform withholding and remittance model; Mexico requires e-commerce platforms to withhold taxes on behalf of sellers, and those without registered tax IDs will face a comprehensive tax burden of up to 36%. The new rules of both countries will affect the tax burden and market access costs of relevant cross-border e-commerce businesses.

Global trade policies have become more complex this week, and the asynchronous adjustments in tariffs and tax systems across countries are reshaping the cross-border competitive landscape. Enterprises need to closely monitor policy developments to respond promptly.