QUICK QUIZ
Quick quiz: Trump's new Section 122 tariff applies to imports from how many countries?
A) Just China
B) China + 5 others
C) ALL countries
(Answer at the bottom — and why this changes everything for sellers.)
The Supreme Court just invalidated the legal basis for most of Trump's tariffs. Within 48 hours, he replaced them with a 10% blanket duty on ALL imports from ALL countries — effective Monday.
Your landed costs just changed. Your duty rates might be up or down depending on what you source and where. And if you have containers on the water this week, you have a narrow window to avoid the new tariff entirely.
Meanwhile, AI agents went mainstream this week. OpenClaw (the open-source AI agent) went so viral that people are buying Mac minis just to run it. Amazon responded by tightening the rules — you have until March 4 to make sure your automation tools comply with the new AI Agent Policy. And ChatGPT just started selling ads to Target, Williams-Sonoma, and Albertsons.
This is the week tariff chaos collided with the AI agent takeover. Here's what matters for your business.
🚨 DEEP DIVE: Tariff Update — The 80/20 for Amazon Sellers
What Just Happened (Feb 24, 2026)
The Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs Trump was using. Within 48 hours, he replaced them with Section 122 tariffs — a 10% blanket duty on ALL imports from ALL countries. This is brand new as of Monday.
The 5 Things That Matter to You
1. Your duty rate changed — maybe up, maybe down.
Old system: Country-specific IEEPA tariffs (China was 20%+, others varied)
New system: Flat 10% on everybody through July 26, 2026 (with potential to increase to 15% — no official notice yet) (plus any existing Section 301 tariffs still apply)
For China sellers: Your IEEPA tariff is gone, but you still have Section 301 (25% on most goods). The new 10% Section 122 stacks ON TOP. Net result: 35% total (Section 301 25% + Section 122 10%). This is DOWN from ~45% under the old IEEPA tariffs — you're saving about 10%
Whatever sellers paid previously for Section 301 remains, plus Section 122 of 10%. So China importers are saving about 10% from the prior IEEPA tariff rate
For non-China sellers: You now pay 10% where you may have paid 0% before. This is new pain
2. Goods on the water RIGHT NOW get a break.
If your shipment was loaded onto a vessel BEFORE Feb 24 AND enters customs BEFORE Feb 28 → no Section 122 duty
If you have containers arriving this week, rush your entry paperwork. Every day counts. Call your broker (like Pegasus) TODAY
3. This is temporary — 150 days max (expires ~July 26, 2026).
Section 122 can only last 150 days by law
It's a bridge while the administration sets up permanent tariffs under Section 232 and 301
Don't make long-term decisions based on this rate. It WILL change
4. You might get IEEPA tariff money back.
If you paid IEEPA tariffs in the past, those are now legally invalid
No refund process exists yet, but it's coming
Action item: Tell your customs broker to pull ALL your entry data from ACE. Track every IEEPA duty you paid. File protests before entries liquidate. This could be real money back in your pocket
5. Annex II = your exclusions list.
It's 76 pages of HTS codes EXEMPT from the 10% tariff
Mostly food, agricultural products, certain raw materials
Most consumer products Amazon sellers import are NOT excluded — you're paying the 10%
What This Means for Inventory Decisions
If you import from China: You're SAVING ~10% in the short term vs the old IEEPA rate
If you have goods on the water arriving this week: Call your broker and make sure entry happens before Feb 28
If you're placing new orders: Factor 10% Section 122 + any existing Section 301 into your landed cost
If you paid IEEPA tariffs: Start the refund preservation process NOW
Budget for uncertainty. This expires July 26 and could jump to 15%. Smart move: rush shipments while the rate is lower. Build a 5% buffer into your cost models
Sources
TAKEAWAY: If you import from China, this is GOOD NEWS — you're saving about 10% compared to the old IEEPA tariff rate. Section 301 (25%) + Section 122 (10%) = 35% total, down from ~45%. But it's temporary (expires July 26) and could jump to 15%. If you import from anywhere else, you just got hit with a new 10% duty. Smart move: rush shipments while the rate is lower. Lock in supplier pricing now, model multiple tariff scenarios for Q2, and if you paid IEEPA tariffs in the past, start the refund preservation process with your customs broker TODAY.
SOURCING HELP CTA
If you need help sourcing your products during this window, please fill out this sourcing request form and I may be able to refer you to one of my partners in China, Vietnam, India, Thailand, or Mexico.
⚠️ Note: This breakdown does not take into account Section 232 tariffs on steel, iron, aluminum, and brass. If you import products containing these materials, your duty rate may be higher. Talk to your customs broker for product-specific guidance. This is not legal advice.
OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot, then Moltbot) is an open-source, self-hosted AI agent that "actually does things." Users interact via WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Discord, or iMessage. It manages reminders, writes emails, books tickets, handles finances, and organizes your day — all autonomously.
This week it went viral. People are buying Mac minis just to run it. The Verge, Cloudflare, and mainstream tech press covered it extensively.
Why the hype? Because it actually DOES things instead of just chatting. And on Feb 26, Cloudflare released Moltworker — a way to run OpenClaw on Cloudflare Workers without buying new hardware. Now the barrier to entry is $5/month instead of a $600 Mac mini.
Jason Calacanis called his setup "Ultron" and said it replaced 20 people in his organization. This is the "iPhone moment" for AI agents — the shift from niche to mainstream happened overnight.
TAKEAWAY: Sellers who start experimenting with AI agents now will have a 12-month head start. OpenClaw went viral because it actually DOES things. For sellers, this is a preview of what your business will look like in 12 months — AI agents handling customer service, inventory reorders, PPC bid adjustments, supplier communication. The barrier to entry just dropped to $5/month. If your competitors can spin up an AI assistant that handles operations autonomously and you're still doing it manually — you're going to get priced out. Start experimenting now.
Amazon updated its Business Solutions Agreement effective March 4, 2026 — that's 6 days from now. There's a new standalone "Agent Policy" for any automated software or AI agents accessing Amazon services.
Three baseline requirements: (1) AI agents must identify as automated, (2) comply with the Agent Policy, (3) stop access immediately if Amazon requests.
This applies to ALL third-party tools. Repricers, PPC automation, listing tools, inventory management software — Helium 10, Jungle Scout, everything. Amazon can restrict agent access at any time. And sellers are legally responsible for any tool or agent operating on their account.
The announcement went out in Seller Central forums on Feb 17. Most sellers missed it.
TAKEAWAY: Check with your tool providers before March 4 and confirm they comply with Amazon's new Agent Policy. Amazon is making YOU responsible for what your tools do. If a tool violates the policy, it's YOUR account on the line. This is a sign of how seriously Amazon is taking AI agents. The future is agentic, but it needs to be compliant.
OpenAI began testing ads in ChatGPT in the US as of Feb 9. First wave of advertisers: Target (via Roundel), Adobe, Williams-Sonoma, Albertsons.
These aren't traditional banner ads. They're new formats designed for AI conversational context. This is OpenAI's first monetization beyond subscriptions.
ChatGPT has 300M+ weekly active users. That's a massive new ad surface.
When 300 million people ask "what's the best [product]?" and see ads in the response, that changes discovery forever. This is the birth of AI-native advertising.
Right now it's Target and big brands. But if this scales, every DTC brand and Amazon seller will want in.
TAKEAWAY: When people ask AI "what's the best [product]?" and see ads — that changes discovery. This is AI-native advertising. Right now it's Target and big brands, but if this scales, every seller will want in. If you sell DTC or on Shopify, this could be a new acquisition channel within months. Watch this closely.
Perplexity launched "Computer" on Feb 25, 2026 — a super agent that can create websites, write reports, or generate datasets autonomously.
Here's how it works: You describe the end-product you want. Computer breaks it down and delegates to task-specific sub-agents. It chooses the best model for each job — Nano Banana for images, Veo 3.1 for video, Gemini for deep research, Grok for quick searches.
It can run autonomously for hours or even months, according to Perplexity. This is the next evolution of "vibe coding" — describe what you want, agents build it.
Multi-agent orchestration is here.
TAKEAWAY: "Describe what you want, agents build it" — this is where ecommerce is heading. Imagine: "Build me a Q2 product launch plan with sourcing quotes, competitor analysis, PPC strategy, and listing optimization." The agent does it all. This isn't theoretical — Perplexity just shipped it. The sellers who learn to delegate to AI agents first will have a massive speed and cost advantage.
QUICK HITS
Amazon Big Spring Sale — March 25-31
Deal enrollment is open. Amazon members leaked the dates (not officially confirmed, but Amazon didn't deny). If these dates hold, you have exactly 4 weeks to prepare. Prep inventory and PPC now.
Amazon OTDR Enforcement Narrowing
Starting Feb 28, only worst-performing FBM listings face deactivation. Amazon is getting more surgical with On-Time Delivery Rate enforcement instead of nuking entire accounts. Good news for FBM sellers with generally good performance. Audit your catalog now and fix or switch the SKUs dragging your metrics down.
80/20 OpenClaw Ecommerce Accelerator — Waitlist
The future of ecommerce is agentic.
AI agents managing your customer service. AI agents handling inventory reorders. AI agents optimizing your PPC bids. AI agents communicating with suppliers.
This isn't 3 years away. It's happening now. OpenClaw went viral this week because people finally have an AI agent that DOES things. Amazon just formalized rules for AI agents because they know this is the future.
The sellers who learn to build AI agent teams NOW will have a 12-month head start on everyone else.
That's why we built the 80/20 OpenClaw Ecommerce Accelerator (OCEA) — a live cohort where we teach 6- to 8-figure sellers how to build AI agent teams that are transparent, compliant, and secure.
We just wrapped our first cohort. Results were incredible. Doors will reopen soon.
Be first to know when the next cohort opens:
This is the AI training built specifically for Amazon sellers — not generic "AI for business" fluff.
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
Tariff chaos. AI agents going mainstream. Amazon formalizing the rules.
This is the week it all collided.
If you import from China, this is actually good news in the short term — you're saving about 10% compared to the old IEEPA tariff rate. Section 301 (25%) + Section 122 (10%) = 35% total. But it's temporary (expires July 26) and could jump to 15%. If you import from anywhere else, you just got hit with a new 10% duty.
And while tariffs create uncertainty, AI agents create opportunity. The sellers who start experimenting now — building compliant, transparent agent workflows — will have a massive advantage when this becomes table stakes.
Talk soon,
Gary
P.S. Be first to know when the next OCEA cohort opens: https://newsletter.7figuresellersummit.com/openclaw-ecom-accelerator
P.P.S. If you need sourcing help during this tariff window: https://forms.gle/JKSE9T5JeRPbU88z7
QUIZ ANSWER
C) ALL countries.
The new Section 122 tariff is a 10% blanket duty on imports from every single country. Not just China. Not just adversaries. Everyone.
This is unprecedented — and it's only good for 150 days (expires July 26, 2026) before something new replaces it, with potential to increase to 15%. The sellers who model this into their unit economics right now will be ready. The rest will be scrambling in July.