Topline
The U.S. Postal Service announced the suspension of all incoming packages from China and Hong Kong Posts on Tuesday evening—a likely fallout of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on all Chinese imports going into effect—in a move that will likely severely disrupt operations for major e-commerce platforms like Shein, Temu and Amazon Haul. (UPDATE: USPS reversed the decision Wednesday morning.)
The USPS announced the suspension of all inbound packages from China and Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Key Facts
In a notice on its website, USPS described the suspension as temporary, without specifying a timeline other than “until further notice.”
The postal service said the suspension only impacts international packages from China and Hong Kong, but the “flow of letters and flats from China and Hong Kong will not be impacted.”
The move comes after the Trump administration’s sweeping 10% tariffs on all Chinese goods went into effect after midnight on Tuesday—which also closed the “de minimis” exemption that allowed packages valued under $800 to be processed without paying any customs duties or tariffs.
Although USPS did not specify a reason for the move, it was likely put in place to allow the postal service to come up with a procedure to process and charge duties on the “de minimis” packages shipped by mail.
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Will The Suspension Impact Temu And Shein Orders?
USPS’ suspension is likely to cause a major disruption in the operations of popular low-cost e-commerce platforms like Temu, Shein and Amazon Haul. All three services, which offer products at low prices, relied on both low-cost shipments from China and the duties exemptions offered under the “de minimis” rule. Forbes has reached out to Temu’s parent PDD, as well as Shein and Amazon, for comment.
What Do We Know About ‘de Minimis’ Shipments To The U.s.?
Last month, Customs and Border Patrol reported that 1.36 billion “de minimis” shipments entered the U.S. during fiscal year 2024. This is a nearly ten fold increase from 139 million of such shipments reported in fiscal year 2015. Although the CBP did not specify how much of the imports were from China, the agency’s release included a statement from the Biden White House’s National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard, who said: “We cannot let Chinese-founded e-commerce platforms gain an unfair trade advantage while American businesses play by the rule.” A study commissioned by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found that nearly half of all “de minimis” shipments entering the U.S. originated from China. Temu and Shein specifically accounted for 30% of all inbound “de minimis” packages.
What We Don’t Know
USPS describes “flats” or large envelopes as packages with dimensions up to 15 inches long, 3/4 inches thick and a maximum weight of 16 ounces. These “flats” are exempted from the suspension, but it is unclear if e-commerce companies will be able to use these packages to ship merchandise.
Further Reading
Prices On Groceries, Cars And Popular Products From Shein And Temu Could Also Spike Amid Trump’s Tariffs (Forbes)
Read the full article here