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The US Postal Service said it’s accepting “all international inbound mail and packages” from China and Hong Kong Posts, walking back an announcement made only hours earlier to halt some overseas shipments.
The agency is working with US Customs and Border Protection to minimise delivery disruptions while implementing an “efficient collection mechanism” for new tariffs on China, the postal service said in an emailed statement. The acceptance of packages is effective Feb. 5.
The resumption of normal service capped about 12 hours of confusion after the postal service said late Tuesday that it would temporarily freeze the package shipments from China and Hong Kong, without providing an explanation. The abrupt move threatened to exacerbate a trade war and weighed on shares of retailers such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc.
The saga comes after President Donald Trump revoked a “de minimis” rule for China, which previously allowed small packages under $800 to enter the US duty-free. This exemption, often used by Chinese-linked e-commerce companies, was removed as part of a new 10 percent tariff on goods from China and Hong Kong, which took effect just after midnight Tuesday Washington time.
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The de minimis revocation is a “significant challenge” for USPS in terms of sorting out how to execute the new tariff rules, said Chelsey Tam, senior equity analyst at Morningstar. “There were 4 million de minimis packages per day in 2024, and it is difficult to check all the packages.”
Washington is cracking down on a loophole that retailers like Temu and Shein have used for years to expand in the US, allowing them to ship high volumes of small packages and gain an edge over competitors like Amazon. Critics say the flood of parcels from China is difficult to track and may contain illegal or dangerous goods.
It wasn’t immediately clear if any packages were actually blocked under the announced pause. USPS said in its original announcement that letters and flat mail from China and Hong Kong would not be affected.
By Cailley LaPara
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