The Washington Post – The U.S. Postal Service abruptly suspended inbound package shipments from China and Hong Kong on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s trade war began in earnest.
Trump allowed a 10 percentage point tariff increase on Chinese imports to take effect Tuesday morning after backing off plans to levy duties on Canada and Mexico. Beijing responded with retaliatory measures including 15 percent tariffs on imports of U.S. coal, liquefied natural gas, agricultural equipment and other goods.
The vast majority of goods shipped from China arrive outside the mail system, but Trump’s order specifically eliminated a “de minimis” tariff exemption for small quantities of items and low-value items, including those shipped through postal service. That exemption covered items worth less than $800.
The mail agency’s move may block or delay, at least temporarily, parcels from retailers including Shein and Temu, and some from Amazon, from entering the United States.
Temu and Shein are responsible for an estimated 30 percent of packages shipped daily into the United States, according to a report from the Peterson Institute. Nearly half of all de minimis shipments originate in China, according to a House Republican congressional report.
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**Submission Statement**
USPS has announced it will temporarily suspend acceptance of inbound packages from China and Hong Kong Posts following China tariffs, letters and flats not affected.
It will be temporary, systems getting updated
Supposedly there are also issues where Chinese shippers are abusing the barcode system by shipping packages with the same exact one so that when it arrives the receiver has to pay the parcel cost (again).