Analysis
What the end of de minimis actually means on the warehouse floor
The $800 duty-free loophole is gone — first for China, then worldwide. Here's what actually changed at the entry desk, and why it quietly favors brands holding U.S. stock.
Insights
Cross-border policy, platforms, and freight — each sourced to the primary document.
Logistics
Transpacific spot rates: reading the cycle instead of chasing it
Rates ran up into peak season, then eased — with Shanghai–New York still near $7,900 a box. How to buy freight like the cycle exists, because it does.
Platform Watch
TikTok Shop keeps raising the bar for cross-border sellers
U.S. entity, matching bank account, beneficial-owner disclosure — TikTok Shop's verification keeps tightening. What the direction of travel means for China-based sellers.
Policy Radar
CBP enforcement posture: what UFLPA detentions mean for your supply chain paperwork
UFLPA detentions are running at a high, steady baseline and CBP just issued new forced-labor guidance. What a defensible supply-chain file looks like in practice.
Platform Watch
Walmart Marketplace is courting the sellers Amazon made rich
Up ~34% year over year, 200,000+ sellers, and real WFS incentives. Why the second marketplace deserves a first look — especially if your stock is already stateside.
Analysis
Stock is the language American buyers speak
U.S. retail chains and marketplace partners trust brands that can ship today — not in 45 days. The strategic case for holding real inventory in America, from a company that warehouses it.
MashBond News
MashBond at CES 2026: scouting the brands America will meet next
The founding team walked CES 2026 — looking for the Asian hardware brands with genuine US potential, and the localization gaps holding them back.
Policy Radar
USTR moves on Section 301 tariff adjustments — what sellers should watch
USTR has opened its second four-year review of the China Section 301 tariffs. What's actually changing now, what isn't, and the entry-date detail the group chats keep getting wrong.
Platform Watch
Amazon's 3.5% FBA surcharge: small percentage, real annual bill
Amazon added a 3.5% surcharge to every FBA fulfillment fee in April 2026, with no end date. It's charged on the fee, not the sale — here's what it actually costs and how to offset it.
Policy Radar
Tariff stacking, explained: why your effective rate isn't the one in the headline
Base duty, Section 301, and whatever surcharge is live all stack on the same entry. A plain-English view of how the layers combine into the number that actually hits your landed cost.
Logistics
The port congestion playbook: what to do before the next backup
Congestion is a when, not an if. The inventory and routing decisions that decide whether the next backup costs you sales — or costs your competitor sales.
Policy Radar
Owed a tariff refund? The IEEPA reversal put real money on the table
After the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs, CBP began processing refunds. Who's owed, and the entry-by-entry paperwork that turns a ruling into a check.
Policy Radar
The Supreme Court just rewrote the tariff map — what changed for importers
On Feb 20, 2026 the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs. A 10% Section 122 surcharge replaced them days later. The net: China's ceiling fell sharply — here's the real picture.
Platform Watch
TikTok Shop blinks: the U.S. seller-shipping mandate is paused
TikTok Shop was set to force U.S. sellers onto its own logistics by March 31 — then paused the plan in February. What the reversal signals for how you should fulfill.
Logistics
Dimensional weight: the quiet overcharge on almost every parcel invoice
Carriers bill on dimensional weight, and most sellers never audit it. Where the money leaks on every parcel — and how packaging decisions plug it.
Platform Watch
Amazon FBA fee changes: reading the fee table like an operator
Amazon raised U.S. FBA fees for 2026 — modest on average, but enough to move the FBA-vs-FBM math on part of your catalog. How operators read the table and rebalance.
Policy Radar
New Section 301 tariffs hit Chinese chips — starting at zero, by design
USTR ruled China's semiconductor dominance actionable and set new Section 301 tariffs on Chinese chips — at 0% now, rising in 2027. Why the zero is the real story.
Logistics
Ocean rates held the line into 2026 contract season — here's the read
Transpacific spot rates stayed firm through the December 2025 slowdown as carriers defended pricing ahead of Chinese New Year and contract talks. What to lock, what to float.
MashBond News
LogiMind AI wins third place at Silicon Valley Bank's Impact pitch
During LA Tech Week, MashBond pitched LogiMind AI — a logistics language model for cross-border trade — at Silicon Valley Bank's Impact showcase and placed third. Here's what we presented, and how it becomes ShippingCow.AI.
MashBond News
MashTalk: MashBond's first cross-border summit in China
In July 2025, MashBond hosted the first MashTalk in Guangdong, China — a private summit for supply-chain leaders and brand owners on what it really takes for a Chinese brand to build a lasting presence in the U.S. market.
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