Sagawa Express says data on up to 53.23 million shipments may have leaked through its tracking service, after Yamato's incident. Japan will tax low-value imports at checkout from 2028, Korea's record surplus with the US revives tariff risk, and delivery capacity stays short.
Background North Asia moves the parcel tax to the checkout as its delivery capacity runs short (updated 23 October 2026)
Read the source → The briefing, 14 min →Start of the January to March 2027 period used to designate large platforms as deemed suppliers
For your parcels From April 2028, a parcel under ¥10,000 either arrives with tax already collected by a registered seller or platform, or pays import consumption tax at the border.
Open in the Radar →Foreign operators above the thresholds must have a designated Korea-based representative
For your parcels No change at customs; the marketplaces behind Korean cross-border parcels become directly answerable to the Korean regulator.
Open in the Radar →Next USMCA joint review, which frames the preferential courier treatment for US and Canadian goods (month only)
For your parcels A direct parcel from China into Mexico pays a third of its value in import taxes, so platforms now ship containers and deliver from Mexican warehouses.
Open in the Radar →Japan Post raised Yu-Pack rates by about 10% in October and Yamato sees room for further price rises, with jet fuel near a record.
The full barometer →3 rules tracked, ordered by the next date. Each has its own page with dates, sources and what to prepare.
Start of the January to March 2027 period used to designate large platforms as deemed suppliers
Japan (National Diet; Ministry of Finance) · AdoptedForeign operators above the thresholds must have a designated Korea-based representative
South Korea (National Assembly; Korea Fair Trade Commission) · AdoptedNext USMCA joint review, which frames the preferential courier treatment for US and Canadian goods (month only)
Mexico · In forceEvery customs, tax and postal deadline in your markets, sourced from the official text, in the calendar you already use. When a date moves, your calendar moves with it.
Free, no sign-up, nothing tracked. One link can be shared with your compliance, operations and commercial teams so everyone works from the same dates. Information, not legal advice.
Every rule on one route, with the dates coming and what to prepare.
Check a route →Japan will tax low-value imports at the point of sale from 2028, Korea is making foreign platforms answer locally, Taiwan is keeping its door open, and Washington has reset tariffs on all three economies. For carriers, the value now lies in platform data at the border and in scarce hours at the door.
End of de minimisUS-China truceTrade · Global e-commerceThe US, the EU, the UK and Japan are ending duty-free treatment for low-value e-commerce parcels, while Brazil has just reopened its door. For carriers and platforms, the question is no longer whether a small parcel pays, but who declares it, on what data and from which warehouse.
End of de minimisEU customs reformGeopolitics · Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia is about to sign a regional digital economy pact while Washington hunts transshipment and its own governments close the low-value parcel gap. For carriers and platforms, origin data and in-market stock now decide who keeps the volume.
ASEAN rulebookUS-China truceRegulation · European UnionFrom 1 November every low-value parcel entering the EU needs product identifiers and pays a €2 handling fee per item. Exporting posts and express carriers are choosing between blocking shipments without the data and warning senders, brokers carry the declaration risk, and EU posts fold the fee into a recipient-pays model whose own charges are often larger.
EU customs reformEnd of de minimisCapacity, network, M&A, partnerships, closures and pricing moves, dated and sourced. Patterns across these lines are where the signals come from.
CJ Logistics is turning shops that use Toss's payment terminals, a network of about 500,000 merchants across Korea, into parcel drop-off points under a memorandum signed in early October, starting with small business senders and later opening to consumers. Newspim
Networks consolidateHanjin was selected to run three government-backed logistics support programmes for small businesses in Korea, adding a parcel pickup segment; 87 of 579 applicants were selected in the first three rounds (23 fulfilment, 64 pickup) and can get up to 90% of logistics costs supported. Newspim
Networks consolidateYamato Transport signed a basic agreement with Vietnam's Masterise Aviation Infrastructure to study an advanced logistics hub at Vinh International Airport, combining air and road services. LNEWS
ASEAN rulebookLalamove extended its on-demand same-day delivery app to the whole of Honshu, citing e-commerce demand for same-day delivery. LNEWS
Networks consolidateCJ Logistics signed an MoU with Toss to offer parcel pickup to small merchants through Toss Front payment terminals, with parcel drop-off points planned later across Toss's network of 500,000 merchant locations. CJ Logistics newsroom
Networks consolidateSagawa will raise Hikyaku Takuhaibin and large-size delivery rates by about 13.8% on average and Hikyaku Air by about 2.7% from 1 January 2027; the Kanto to Kansai 170-size rate rises from ¥3,360 to ¥4,200. LNEWS
Networks consolidateJapan Post acquired a five-storey logistics facility of about 150,000 sq m at Shinsuna, Koto Ward, Tokyo, to combine with the nearby Shin-Tokyo Post Office and move sorting out of urban offices such as Ginza and Kyobashi; the Ginza relocation is planned by fiscal 2028. LNEWS
Networks consolidateCoupang extended its Rocket Jikgu cross-border direct-purchase service to Europe, adding about 80 brands and more than 380 products from Germany, Italy and Switzerland, delivered in 3 to 5 days for WOW members. Seoul Economic TV
Platforms go localSagawa added a peak surcharge of ¥20 to ¥150 per kg, depending on destination, to its Hikyaku international parcel service for pickups from 1 Oct 2026 to 5 Feb 2027. LNEWS
CJ Logistics and Korea Ocean Business Corporation began full operation of the Elwood logistics centre near Chicago: 102,775 m2 of floor space and 130 loading docks. Edaily
EU rules for parcels sent from here into the EU: product identifiers mandatory on low-value e-commerce declarations and a €2 handling fee per item.
APEC leaders' meeting in Shenzhen, with a Xi-Trump meeting expected; Japan's and Korea's US tariff deals sit beside the US-China truce that ends on 10 January.
Korea: large foreign platforms must have appointed a domestic agent.
Japan opens registration for sellers of low-value goods ahead of the 2028 consumption-tax change.
Japan plans to end the ¥10,000 consumption-tax exemption on low-value imports.