In partnership with
TODAY’S MAZE
Happy Tuesday! President Trump has signed a new 15% global import tariff via executive order. This move follows a court ruling that recently invalidated previous trade levies.
Retailers are now suing for refunds as supply chains brace for immediate price hikes. How will these new duties impact profit margins and long-term trade stability?
In today’s MarketMaze focus:
Trump’s 15% global tariffs
PayPal faces takeover interest
Chinese labs clone Claude
Rufus influences shopper decisions
Crypto adoption remains niche
+Handpicked recent news you need to know
LET’S ENTER THE MAZE!
- Artur Stańczuk, MarketMaze Founder
MAZE STORY
The Maze: Following a Supreme Court ruling striking down emergency levies, President Trump signed a new executive order for a 15% global tariff while major corporations sue for billions in refunds today.
Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act to implement the duty, which expires in 150 days unless lawmakers in the U.S. Congress vote to approve an extension.
Logistics giant FedEx joined Costco and Toyota in suing the Court of International Trade to secure a full refund of billions in duties previously paid under the invalidated law.
The European Parliament formally suspended its deal with the U.S. while demanding clarity on whether the new levy violates previously agreed-upon price caps.
Why it matters: Global supply chain leaders face immediate cost increases and volatility as trade agreements stall. Legal battles over $175 billion in potential refunds will dictate corporate margin strategies.
Following the 15% US global import tariff and legal disputes involving companies like FedEx, Costco, and Toyota, how do you expect sourcing strategies to change in the next 18 months?
- 🇺🇸 US Nearshoring (production moving to Mexico or domestic US facilities)
- 🇪🇺 EU Diversification (European firms reducing US exposure)
- 🌏 Asia Pivot (greater sourcing from Vietnam, India, and Southeast Asia)
- 🏭 Vertical Integration (large enterprises bringing more production in-house)
- ⏳ Wait and See (companies delaying major shifts until Congress clarifies policy)
☝️ Vote to see results!
FROM OUR PARTNERS
Meet America’s Newest $1B Unicorn
A US startup just hit a $1 billion private valuation, joining billion-dollar private companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, and ByteDance. Unlike those other unicorns, you can invest.
Over 40,000 people already have. So have industry giants like General Motors and POSCO.
Why all the interest? EnergyX’s patented tech can recover up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods. That's a big deal, as demand for lithium is expected to 5X current production levels by 2040. Today, they’re moving toward commercial production, tapping into 100,000+ acres of lithium deposits in Chile, a potential $1.1B annual revenue opportunity at projected market prices.
Right now, you can invest at this pivotal growth stage for $11/share. But only through February 26. Become an early-stage EnergyX shareholder before the deadline.
This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.energyx.com. Under Regulation A, a company may change its share price by up to 20% without requalifying the offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
MAZE STORY
The Maze: PayPal is reportedly exploring options after a 46% stock slide triggered unsolicited takeover interest from major corporate suitors and private equity groups looking to capitalize on the payment giant's depressed market valuation.
One massive firm is currently evaluating a full acquisition while other interested parties focus on buying select assets to bolster their own proprietary payment ecosystems.
Incoming CEO Enrique Lores officially arrives on March 1 with a proven track record of splitting HP into separate business units to unlock more shareholder value.
The firm recently admitted that its internal execution speed failed to keep pace with the increasingly crowded and competitive digital checkout market during the last year.
Why it matters: A potential sale or breakup suggests that legacy payment leaders must pivot as fintech competitors erode their market share. This shift signals a valuation reset for established digital wallets entering a new era.
FROM OUR PARTNERS
The Hustle: Claude Hacks For Marketers
Some people use Claude to write emails. Others use it to basically run their entire business while they play Wordle.
This isn't just ChatGPT's cooler cousin. It's the AI that's quietly revolutionizing how smart people work – writing entire business plans, planning marketing campaigns, and basically becoming the intern you never have to pay.
The Hustle's new guide shows you exactly how the AI-literate are leaving everyone else behind. Subscribe for instant access.
MAZE STORY
The Maze: Anthropic accused three major Chinese AI labs of conducting industrial-scale campaigns to steal model capabilities through illicit distillation. The startup alleges DeepSeek and others exploited workarounds to access elite systems.
Investigators uncovered approximately 24,000 fraudulent accounts that generated over 16 million exchanges to siphon intelligence in violation of regional access restrictions and service terms.
Chinese competitor MiniMax reportedly redirected nearly half its traffic to capture capabilities from the latest Claude system within 24 hours of a brand new model version launching.
Google recently disclosed a surge in model extraction attempts where adversaries use APIs to clone elite AI models while bypassing essential safety guardrails in place today.
Why it matters: Illicit distillation allows rivals to bypass massive R&D costs, undermining the competitive advantage of US-based labs. This friction highlights the urgent need for robust API monitoring to protect intellectual property.
DATA TREASURE
The Maze: Merchants choose boring reliability. Crypto remains niche at checkout because it solves fewer problems than cards, wallets, and local payment rails.
Only ~12% of North American merchants accept crypto, far behind cards, wallets, and even cash on delivery, reflecting operational caution rather than ideology.
Payment teams prioritize reconciliation, refunds, and fraud handling, areas where crypto still adds complexity unless tightly wrapped in stablecoin flows.
Consumer usage remains limited, with only a small fraction of crypto holders actually paying with it, weakening the case for broad rollout.
Why it matters: Payments follow incentives, not hype. Crypto will scale in ecommerce only where it clearly beats existing rails on cost, speed, or cross border friction.
DATA TREASURE
The Maze: Europe’s retail growth story in 2025 is not about flashy innovation. It is about penetration. Action France led EU5 with +4.3pts household gains, while Lidl, Dia, DM and others expanded reach across mature markets. In flat FMCG economies, winning new households is the only growth left.
Action France added +4.3pts to reach ~54% of households in 2025, supported by 900+ French stores, 3,000+ across Europe and 21.6m weekly shoppers drawn to a low price, limited SKU model.
Lidl Italy gained +3.8pts to ~63% penetration, Lidl UK +2.9pts to ~66%, and Lidl Germany reached ~79% after +2.8pts, proving discount is now structural, not cyclical.
Dia Spain rose +3.7pts to ~57%, while DM and Rossmann Germany added +3.1pts and +3.0pts to ~68% and ~59%, showing drugstores and proximity formats are capturing everyday FMCG trips.
Why it matters: Penetration is future revenue, media scale and private label leverage. Retailers that reach 60% to 80% of households control traffic, data and negotiating power. For ecommerce and retail media, physical scale still defines audience dominance in Europe.
BRIEFING
🏬 Everything else in Ecommerce & Big Tech
🇺🇸 eBay reported sustained double-digit GMV growth for Q4 2025, beating analyst forecasts and signaling a major performance comeback for the marketplace.
🇺🇸 Saks Global secured final court approval for $1 billion in reorganization financing, including $600 million to settle overdue payments to luxury brand suppliers.
🇺🇸 Google introduced new generative AI-driven data prompts within Search Console, allowing site owners to use conversational queries to analyze organic performance trends.
🇺🇸 Google outlined technical requirements for its Unified Commerce Platform (UCP), highlighting the importance of schema completeness for AI-enabled transactions in search.
🇮🇳 Indian exporters are accelerating textile and apparel shipments to the United States to maximize sales before a 150-day window for potential tariff hikes closes.
🌍 ZigZag partnered with Vinted Go to integrate 14,000 additional out-of-home locker drop-off points across Europe into its carrier returns library.
SHARE THE MAZE
Your network thinks you’re as smart as the content you share. Share smarter stuff and help us grow. Win–win. Here’s what you get when friends join the Maze:
Here is your unique referral link to share with friends:
and link to the hub to check your progress.
THAT’S IT FOR TODAY!
You’re the reason our team spends hundreds of hours every week researching and writing this email. Please let us know what you thought of today’s email to help us create better emails for you.
What do you think of this issue?
If you enjoyed it please share it with a friend, or share it on LinkedIn and tag me (Artur Stańczuk), I’d love to engage and amplify!
If this was forwarded by a friend you can subscribe below for $0 👇
See you next time in the maze!
MarketMaze team
