What Import and Export Agency Businesses Have Low Risks and Stable Returns in 2026?

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  • Jul 13, 2026 at 04:40
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I am the owner of a small manufacturing enterprise that has just transformed to foreign trade. We only operated domestic trade before, and now we want to expand overseas markets through import and export agencies, but we have no clear direction at all.

Some of our peers have made profits from cross-border e-commerce agency business, while others have suffered heavy losses from port detention due to wrong category selection, which makes me very anxious. Recently I heard that new cross-border policies will be rolled out in 2026, but I do not know which businesses can actually be implemented and generate profits.

I am also worried that the selected businesses will have complicated customs clearance procedures, high costs, or even cross compliance red lines. I would like to ask, what import and export agency businesses are easy to operate now? Which categories or models have low risks and fast payment collection, suitable for newly established enterprises like ours?

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Expert Q&A

Daniel Xu
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat

Among import and export agency businesses in 2026，cross-border e-commerce B2B direct export (9710) and cross-border e-commerce export to overseas warehouses (9810) are the directions with the most concentrated policy dividends. At the beginning of this year，the General Administration of Customs upgraded the cross-border e-commerce supervision system，which has improved the customs clearance efficiency of 9710/9810 models by 30%，and extended the VAT "invoice-free tax exemption" policy for enterprises to some high value-added categories.

For specific implementation scenarios，categories such as household goods，small home appliances and eco-friendly building materials are the preferred options. These categories have stable overseas demand，conform to the 2026 global green trade trend，and have low tariff barriers in the EU and Southeast Asian markets. In terms of operation paths，it is recommended that agency business focus on the markets of RCEP member states in Southeast Asia. The tariff reduction policy under the RCEP framework has covered more than 85% of commodity categories，the logistics timeliness in the region is shortened to 3-7 days，and the payment collection cycle is 20% faster than that of traditional trade.

Compliance red lines to note: First，ensure that commodity labels meet the environmental protection standards of the importing country (such as CE certification for the EU and SIRIM certification for Southeast Asia)，Second，overseas warehouse inventory data must be synchronized in real time with the "Unified Cross-Border E-Commerce Export System" of the General Administration of Customs，to avoid customs detention risks caused by data disconnection. In addition，when selecting agency categories，priority should be given to small goods weighing between 5kg and 30kg. Such goods have a low proportion of logistics costs，and are not prone to additional expenses such as container detention fees.

For newly established enterprises，it is recommended to start with the 9710 model，accumulate experience through platform-based customers first，and then gradually expand the 9810 overseas warehouse business. This step-by-step layout can effectively reduce initial risks，while seizing the profit window during the policy dividend period.

Reference: Russia Export Tax Refund: Your Complete Guide
Grace Wang
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat

From the perspective of customs declaration, among import and export agency businesses, pre-packaged food and medical devices have high compliance requirements, but also large profit margins. In 2026, the customs' price review standards for pre-packaged food are more transparent. Enterprises only need to provide real purchase contracts and invoices and cooperate with the customs' "price pre-review" mechanism to avoid price review disputes.

For medical devices, the newly launched "Medical Device Customs Clearance Green Channel" this year allows Class II medical devices to enjoy priority inspection after providing the filing certificate, improving customs clearance efficiency by 40%. It should be noted that the documents for these two types of goods must be complete, especially the hygiene certificate for food and the registration certificate for medical devices. Missing any of them will lead to customs detention.

Andy Guo
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat

From the logistics dimension, cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouse agency business has more stable cargo right control. In 2026, the capacity of the international shipping market has recovered, and the number of direct routes to Southeast Asia has increased by 15%, but the risk of space shortage still exists on routes to Europe and the United States.

It is recommended that agency business give priority to the overseas warehouse model in the Southeast Asian market, because the free storage period in this region is extended to 14 days, and the container detention fee is 30% lower than that in Europe and the United States. In addition, cooperate with qualified overseas warehouses to ensure that warehouse receipt information is consistent with the bill of lading, so as to avoid cargo right disputes. For fragile goods, it is recommended to use the combination of buffer packaging materials and wooden pallets to reduce transportation damage rate.

Kevin Lin
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0

Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat

From the perspective of tax planning, import and export agency businesses can use the VAT deferral policy to reduce capital pressure. In 2026, the EU's VAT deferral scope for non-resident enterprises has been extended to all cross-border e-commerce B2C orders. Enterprises do not need to pay VAT at the time of import, and only need to declare and pay it after sales.

In addition, the "cost plus method" can be adopted for cross-border related transaction pricing under the RCEP framework to reasonably control profit transfer and avoid BEPS risks. It should be noted that VAT deferral requires enterprises to register a VAT number in the importing country and ensure that sales data is true and verifiable, otherwise they will face tax inspection.

Cindy Chen
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0

Key Account ManagerStart a Chat

For foreign exchange receipt and payment compliance, it is recommended to adopt the CIPS RMB cross-border payment system for import and export agency business. In 2026, the coverage of CIPS has been extended to more than 120 countries, and the exchange rate fluctuation risk of RMB settlement is 15% lower than that of US dollar. For small and medium-sized agency enterprises, it is recommended to open an offshore RMB account and use exchange rate differences to optimize settlement costs.

In addition, SWIFT messages shall ensure "authentic trade background" to avoid foreign exchange receipt and payment delays caused by incomplete message information. It should be noted that a complete document chain, including contracts, invoices, bills of lading, etc., shall be retained for cross-border foreign exchange receipt and payment for bank verification.

Victor Sun
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0

Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat

For legal risk avoidance, import and export agency businesses should give priority to the letter of credit (L/C) payment method, but need to be alert to soft clauses. The 2026 revision of UCP600 by the International Chamber of Commerce has added a clear definition of "soft clauses", and enterprises can use the new rules to reject unreasonable soft clauses (such as "the bill of lading shall be signed by a person designated by the buyer").

In addition, the force majeure clause shall clearly cover common risk scenarios in 2026 such as "port strike" and "logistics interruption", so as to avoid disputes caused by vague clauses. For cargo right transfer, it is recommended to use "order bill of lading" to ensure controllable cargo right.

Michael Zhang
Michael ZhangYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0

Customs Declaration & Compliance ExpertStart a Chat

For export tax rebate, the "four-stream consistency" of import and export agency business is the core. In 2026, the State Taxation Administration's verification focus on export tax rebate has shifted to "the matching degree of capital flow and cargo flow".

Enterprises need to ensure that procurement funds, sales funds, logistics information and document information are completely consistent. In addition, pre-declaration verification can effectively reduce the risk of official inquiry and adjustment.

It is recommended that enterprises conduct pre-declaration through the electronic tax bureau before formal declaration to correct errors in time. For businesses declared across months, attention shall be paid to the timeliness of document filing, so as to avoid tax rebate failure caused by delayed filing.

Note: We respect all users' expressions; however, user comments represent their personal views only.

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