US Postal Service reverses decision to suspend taking parcels from Hong Kong, mainland China

In a quick reversal, the United States Postal Service said on Wednesday that it would continue to accept “all international inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong Posts”, some 12 hours after these were suspended amid the brewing US trade war with China.

In a message on its website, the service said it was “working closely” with the Customs and Border Protection agency to institute an “efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs” to ensure the least disruption to package delivery.

On Tuesday, the postal service said it would temporarily freeze packages from mainland China and Hong Kong. That followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Saturday that – as part of a 10 per cent tariff on all goods from China – suspended a “de minimis” rule for Chinese imports. The tariffs went into effect on Tuesday.

The “de minimis” rule allowed small packages with a value of less than US$800 to enter the US duty-free, a system that the Chinese e-tailers Shein and Temu have relied upon. Wednesday’s move by the postal service, which follows a similar temporary White House halting of 25 per cent tariffs against Canada and Mexico, adds to the tumult that has marked the first weeks of the Trump administration.

The suspension then sudden reversal of Chinese postal shipments and the de minimis crackdown are widely seen as linked. Some 30 per cent of small packages coming into the US in 2023 were sent by Shein and Teum, according to a US government report, and that percentage has likely increased.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the turnaround, but this latest economic and policy confusion came as Trump said late on Tuesday that he was in no hurry to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping.