US Postal Service Suspends Package Shipments from China and Hong Kong

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has temporarily stopped accepting packages from China and Hong Kong, the agency announced on Tuesday. While no specific reason or end date for the suspension was provided, the decision impacts a wide range of customers, including individuals, businesses, and major online retailers such as Temu and Shein. However, regular letter mail will continue to be delivered as usual.

This move follows the introduction of additional tariffs on imports from China, imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump overnight on Tuesday. A new 10% tariff now applies to all goods from China, including packages that previously benefited from a long-standing de minimis exemption. This exemption, which has been in place for decades, allowed small-value shipments to enter the U.S. duty-free. Until now, the threshold for duty-free imports was set at $800.

Stock Market Reaction

Shares of affected companies experienced significant declines following the announcement. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which operates AliExpress internationally, saw its stock drop by 2.5%, while PDD Holdings, the parent company of Temu, fell approximately 6% in pre-market trading in the U.S.

China’s Response

The Chinese government strongly condemned the U.S. decision. A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry called on the United States to “stop politicizing and weaponizing trade and economic issues and to refrain from imposing unreasonable penalties on Chinese businesses.”

Surging Package Shipments from China

The number of packages entering the U.S. under the de minimis exemption has skyrocketed in recent years. In 2023, a staggering 1.36 billion packages were imported through this rule—ten times more than a decade ago and twice as many as in 2022. This translates to approximately 4 million packages per day, including weekends and holidays.

A significant portion of these shipments comes from China, driven by the rising popularity of e-commerce platforms like Temu and Shein. These retailers specialize in offering low-cost products, particularly sourced from Chinese manufacturers, to American consumers.

The USPS suspension is expected to disrupt the flow of goods from these platforms and could have broader implications for cross-border e-commerce and international trade relations.