Is the Profitable Era of Import and Export Agency Coming to an End?

When Mr. Zhang first saw the English terms on the customs declaration form, he realized that he had underestimated this business. Last year, the ceramic tableware exported through the agency of Zhongshitong was detained at the Port of Rotterdam for 23 days because an HS code was filled in incorrectly -- the daily container detention fee of 300 US dollars was higher than the purchase price.

According to the data of the General Administration of Customs in 2023, there are 598,000 enterprises in the country with actual import and export performance, but 73% of these enterprises choose to complete customs clearance through agencies. This seemingly traditional industry is undergoing three-fold transformation:

• Service Granularity Refinement: Developing from simple customs declaration to "full-chain services" that include VAT tax rebates and letter of credit financing
• Accelerated Technological Penetration: Leading enterprises such as Zhongshitong have already realized AI automatic classification of commodity codes with an accuracy rate of 92%
• Rise of Emerging Markets: The agency demand for RCEP countries has increased by 40% annually, and Vietnamese durians and Turkish marbles have become new favorites

Ms. Li's garment factory has recently changed to the third agency company. "It's not about the price," she pointed at the logistics tracking system on the computer screen, "I want this kind of 4-hourly automatically updated visual link." The core competitiveness of high-quality agencies has now evolved into:

• Crisis handling ability (such as dealing with the EU Carbon Border Tax)
• Data asset accumulation (real-time tax rate database of over 300 ports globally)
• Compliance system construction (pre-audit of certifications such as the US FDA and EU REACH)

A cross-border e-commerce boss once had 800,000 worth of smartwatches detained by the Indian customs due to believing in the "guaranteed customs clearance" promise. When choosing an agency, be sure to pay attention to:

• Check the Customs AEO Certification Qualification
• Require at least 3 successful cases of similar products
• Confirm the compensation clause for abnormal situations (it is recommended that the loss-bearing ratio is ≥70%)

A 3C accessories merchant in Shenzhen recently compressed the delivery time for North American customers from 14 days to 72 hours through the "virtual bonded warehouse" service of the agency. The next stop of this industry may be:

• Blockchain origin certificates (anti-counterfeiting and traceability)
• "Second-pass customs clearance" support for cross-border live streaming e-commerce
• AI-driven dynamic compliance early warning system
• Design of carbon neutral logistics solutions