US Postal Service suspends parcels from China Hong Kong amid tariff row

The US postal service said it would suspend parcels from China and Hong Kong ‘until further notice’, after President Donald Trump scrapped a trade provision used by retailers to ship low value package duty-free to the U.S on Tuesday.

Trump’s administration had earlier imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods following repeated warnings that Beijing was not doing enough to halt the flow of fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid, into the U.S. 

Online retail stores like Amazon, Shein and Temu are expected to be affected by the removal of the “de minimis” clause which allows US shoppers to avoid paying tariffs on shipments below $800.

Fast-fashion retailer Shein and online dollar-store Temu, both of which sell products ranging from toys to smartphones, have grown rapidly in the U.S. thanks in part to the de minimis exemption.

The two firms together likely accounted for more than 30% of all packages shipped to the United States each day under the de minimis provision, the U.S. congressional committee on China said in a June 2023 report.

Nearly half of all packages shipped under de minimis come from China, according to the report.
Shein and Temu did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

China's foreign ministry called on Wednesday for dialogue and consultation between Beijing and Washington, adding that reducing demand for drugs at home and enhancing law enforcement cooperation was the fundamental way for the U.S. to solve its fentanyl crisis.

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