Common Litigation Scenarios for Export Agents as Defendants: Practical Solutions to Avoid Losing Cases and Protect Rights

3 High-Frequency Litigation Scenarios for Export Agents as Defendants

In the first half of 2026,I handled a litigation case involving a foreign trade company in Suzhou.The company lent its export qualification to an individual SOHO to export hardware tools in exchange for a 300 yuan agency fee per shipment.As a result,the goods were suspected of infringing the appearance patent of an overseas brand.The plaintiff directly listed the domestic shipper on the customs declaration form,which was the agency company,as a co-defendant.Finally,the court ruled that the company failed to fulfill its review obligations,bearing 40% joint liability with a compensation amount of 270,000 yuan—equivalent to the total agency fees of nearly 1,000 orders.

• Intellectual Property Infringement Disputes: Freight forwarders or individual SOHOs borrow agency qualifications to export goods involving trademark,patent,or copyright infringement.Plaintiffs usually list the domestic shipper on the customs declaration as a co-defendant.Among the cases published by courts in the Yangtze River Delta in 2026,82% of such cases initially presume the agency is at fault unless the agency can prove it has fulfilled its complete review obligations.
• Sales Contract Breach Disputes: The principal conceals actual transaction details,leading to issues such as delayed delivery,non-conforming goods,or quality non-compliance.When overseas buyers cannot find the actual supplier,they will directly sue the exporter shown on the customs declaration,demanding refund or breach of contract compensation.
• Compliance-Related Joint Liability Disputes: Agency enterprises fail to verify the authenticity of goods and participate in "buying documents and matching invoices" for tax fraud.After being punished by tax authorities,they are involved in civil liability claims from upstream and downstream parties.Or,due to abnormal foreign exchange collection links involving money laundering or underground bank exchange issues,they are implicated in criminal cases and become defendants.

Liability Division Standards After an Export Agent is Sued

The latest foreign-related commercial adjudication rules in 2026 have clarified that the liability determination of export agency enterprises is no longer based solely on whether an agency agreement is signed.It will be comprehensively judged based on multiple dimensions such as the actual business links involved,whether review obligations are fulfilled,and whether the agency identity is clearly informed to third parties.The following division standards can be referenced:

Practical Guide to Avoid Becoming a Defendant from the Source

The foreign trade company where Manager Ding (whom I have contacted) works previously encountered 2-3 potential litigation risks every year.Since adjusting the risk control process in cooperation with us at the end of 2025,no disputes have occurred so far.The core is to manage three key links:

First,the agency agreement must clearly define rights and responsibilities.All of the principal’s business licenses,intellectual property certificates of goods,purchase and sales contracts,and quality inspection reports must be fully archived for no less than 3 years to meet the requirements of customs,tax,and judicial traceability.Zhongshitong,relying on Shanghai’s international trade data resources,has accessed the customs intellectual property filing database and global trademark and patent query system.Before each shipment is exported,it will automatically compare and check for infringement risks,and all review records are fully traceable.

Second,the agency identity must be clearly informed to third parties.On all PIs,communication emails,bills of lading,and manifests with overseas buyers,clearly mark "We are the export agent,and the actual seller is XX Company" to avoid being identified as a co-seller later and bearing unnecessary breach of contract liability.

Third,the foreign exchange collection link must be compliant.Collect foreign exchange strictly according to the declared amount,do not help the principal collect unknown funds,and do not participate in any non-standard channel exchange operations to avoid joint liability for tax fraud or money laundering.Zhongshitong’s foreign exchange settlement system has realized data linkage across national ports,and each foreign exchange collection will automatically verify the corresponding customs declaration information,eliminating exchange losses and compliance risks from the source.

Emergency Handling Steps After Being Sued

The latest civil litigation rules in 2026 clearly state that the evidence submission period for foreign-related commercial cases is only 15 days.Upon receiving the summons,three operations must be completed immediately: First,retrieve all customs declarations,agency agreements,communication records,and review certificates for the shipment and organize them into a complete evidence chain.Second,actively apply to the court to add the actual principal as a co-defendant to reduce one’s own liability ratio.Third,if it is an intellectual property infringement dispute,verify immediately whether the goods are indeed infringing.If there is a possibility of infringement,take the initiative to contact the plaintiff to negotiate a settlement to avoid triggering punitive damages of up to 10 times the value of the goods later.

Risk Warning: Many small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises lend their export qualifications at will to earn meager agency fees without any review process.Once involved in litigation,the compensation amount may be dozens or even hundreds of times the agency fee,which is completely not worth it.Zhongshitong’s end-to-end risk control system covers the entire process of accurate HS code classification,declaration element consistency verification,intellectual property risk screening,and foreign exchange collection link verification.All operations are traceable,so even if litigation occurs,a complete evidence chain can be presented to complete the defense,minimizing the enterprise’s losses.