- The USA Postal Service mentioned it can cease accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong.
- The suspension can be efficient beginning Tuesday, the USPS mentioned.
- Solely parcels are affected for now — the restriction would not apply to letters and flat mail.
The US Postal Service mentioned on Tuesday that it’s suspending inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong till additional discover.
In a press release on its web site, the USPS mentioned the suspension will take impact instantly. It is not going to apply to letters and flat mail from China and Hong Kong.
When contacted for remark, USPS representatives directed Enterprise Insider to the assertion on the USPS web site.
The suspension comes after the US imposed a brand new 10% tariff on all items imported from China. On Tuesday, China responded with a ten% tariff on crude oil and agricultural equipment and a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied pure fuel.
When President Donald Trump first introduced the tariffs in an government order he signed on Saturday, the order specified that the de minimis exemption for small packages would now not apply.
That exemption was helpful for Chinese language e-commerce retailers like Shein and Temu, which may ship packages value lower than $800 on to US clients with out incurring tariffs.
“That is notably related for Chinese language e-commerce exporters, as shipments from the mainland and Hong Kong accounted for round 67% of all US-bound packages beneath the availability between 2018-2021,” Louise Bathroom, the lead economist for Better China at Oxford Economics, wrote in a observe on Tuesday.
In keeping with the US Customs and Border Safety, the whole quantity of de minimis shipments into the US was over 1.36 billion within the 2024 fiscal yr.
The US Customs and Border Safety mentioned in a press release on January 17 that shipments into the US beneath the exemption have gone up by greater than 600% over the past 10 years.
“This exponential improve has created challenges for CBP’s efficient enforcement of US commerce legal guidelines, well being and security necessities, mental property rights, and client safety guidelines,” the assertion added.
Anticipate mail chaos, logistics professional says
US customers can anticipate chaos with their packages, a commerce specialist advised BI.
“There will be disruption, there will be cancellations, the following couple of days are going to be chaotic,” mentioned Ram Ben Tzion, the founder and CEO of Extremely Info Options.
To get across the suspension, Chinese language exporters could select to make use of different logistics corporations like DHL, UPS, and FedEx — however this demand surge may trigger freight prices to extend, mentioned Ben Tzion, whose firm is behind Publican, a digital vetting platform for world commerce.
Non-public freight corporations may begin evaluating how they plan to deal with inbound packages from China and Hong Kong.
“The suspension is definitely sending a really sturdy message to FedEx, to UPS, to DHL that in addition they want to contemplate in the event that they proceed taking packages from China,” Ben Tzion mentioned.
He advises customers to attend earlier than carting out any merchandise which might be shipped out of China or Hong Kong.
“Principally, for those who proceed shopping for on Shein, Temu, Alibaba, or Amazon, I strongly counsel that you just watch for the following week to see the way it performs out, as a result of it is going to be a multitude,” mentioned Ben Tzion.
