US Postal Service to accept inbound parcels from China, Hong Kong after suspension

The U.S. Postal Service said on Wednesday it would accept parcels from China and Hong Kong, in a U-turn after a suspension following President Donald Trump ending a trade provision used by retailers including Temu, Shein, and Amazon to ship low-value packages duty-free to the U.S.

"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.

The Trump administration imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and closed the "de minimis" exemption that allows U.S. shoppers to avoid paying tariffs for shipments below $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.