Shopify Managed Markets and Sanctions: Who Screens Your International Orders?
Global-e becomes merchant of record under Managed Markets. See what its documented checks cover, what they don't, and what to ask before you ship.
4 min read
Shopify Managed Markets makes Global-e the merchant of record for your international orders. Global-e handles duties, tax remittance, carrier arrangements and commercial invoices. Merchants often read "merchant of record" as "they handle compliance". The documented checks are narrower than that. Shopify's Managed Markets help pages describe a fraud analysis, a duties check, an address check and product restrictions. They don't describe screening buyers or recipients against sanctions lists.
What Managed Markets does, according to Shopify
These points come from Shopify's Managed Markets help pages, checked on 31 October 2026:
- Merchant of record. Global-e becomes the merchant of record. All Managed Markets questions go to Shopify Support.
- Eligibility. Managed Markets is available to merchants based in the continental United States, with limited eligibility for some stores in Canada and the United Kingdom.
- No B2B. B2B orders aren't supported. You act as your own merchant of record for them.
- A short order hold. Managed Markets orders are placed on hold while Managed Markets performs a fraud analysis and confirms that duties and import taxes were collected. Shopify says the hold is usually removed within five minutes. Orders can also be held briefly while the address is checked.
- Product restrictions. Your product list is reviewed for prohibited items before activation. Items subject to the EAR or ITAR are restricted.
- You still fulfil. You buy labels in Shopify or use a fulfillment partner. Once a label is bought, you can't cancel fulfillment for a Managed Markets order.
The gap: who checks the people
A product review answers "may this item be sold through Managed Markets?" A fraud analysis answers "is this payment likely to be disputed?" Neither answers "is this buyer, or the person receiving the goods, a restricted party?"
Shopify's pages don't say that check doesn't happen. They just don't describe it. So don't assume it is done for you. Ask Shopify Support in writing:
- Does Managed Markets or Global-e screen buyers and recipients against restricted-party lists? Which lists, and when?
