US Postal Service restores delivery of incoming parcels from China and Hong Kong

HONG KONG – The US Postal Service on Wednesday morning announced it will continue accepting incoming international parcels from China and Hong Kong — after saying late Tuesday night that it would suspend them. Although no reason was given for the initial suspension of package deliveries from China, the Postal Service suggested Wednesday it was related to broad-based new tariffs imposed Tuesday and elimination of the de minimis exemption. This exemption had allowed anyone, including exporters, to ship packages worth less than $800 to the United States without duties or needing to undergo inspections. Inspecting incoming parcels to collect the new import taxes could prove extremely difficult. “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,” the Postal Service said in a statement Wednesday.

CNN has reached out to USPS and delivery companies FedEx and UPS for comment. DHL said in a statement that it had been working with customers to navigate the changes. The initial suspension had threatened the business models of e-commerce giants Shein and Temu, which have built their business models around this exemption. The relaxed restrictions and tax exemptions on cheap products have allowed more than a billion packages to pour into the US at low prices for consumers looking for deals on anything from clothing to household goods. CNN has reached out to Shein and Temu for comment.  “At a practical level, it’s nearly impossible” to implement, she added. “My guess is reality set in. Businesses, retailers, e-commerce platforms said, ‘Hey, this is going to completely change how Americans are going to get their stuff.’” Indeed, USPS would need time to figure out how to execute the new taxes on Chinese packages, Morningstar senior equity analyst Chelsey Tam wrote in a research note. “This is a significant challenge for them because there were 4 million de minimis packages per day in 2024, and it is difficult to check all the packages — so it will take time,” she said. The termination of the exemption will hit Chinese shipments the hardest, as nearly half of all packages shipped under the de minimis exemption originated there, Reuters reported, citing a June 2023 report by a US congressional committee on the country.