HONG KONG: The United States Postal Service (USPS) said on Wednesday (Feb 5) it would accept parcels from China and Hong Kong, U-turning on an initial suspension it announced on Tuesday.
USPS’ earlier halt followed President Donald Trump’s ending of a trade provision used by retailers including Temu, Shein, and Amazon to ship low-value packages duty-free to the US.
“The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Trump administration imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods and closed the “de minimis” exemption that allows US shoppers to avoid paying tariffs for shipments below US$800 from China.
USPS did not immediately comment on whether its temporary suspension had been tied to Trump’s order ending de minimis shipments from China, which was announced on Saturday and came into force from one minute past midnight on Tuesday.
“There has really been absolutely zero time for anyone to prepare for this,” said Maureen Cori, co-founder at New York-based consultancy Supply Chain Compliance.
“What we really need is direction from the government on how to handle this without warning or notice.”
Currently, de minimis parcels are consolidated so that customs can clear hundreds or thousands of shipments at once, but they will now require individual clearances, significantly increasing the burden for postal services, brokers and customs agents, said Cori.
The provision was initially intended as a way to streamline trade, and its use has surged with the increase in online shopping.
About 1.36 billion shipments entered the US using the de minimis provision in 2024, up 36 per cent from 2023, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.
