On Wednesday, The U.S. Postal Service said that it would resume accepting shipments from China and Hong following a temporary pause, which appeared to be in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports.
The USPS aid in a notice it will again accept all inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong, hours after announcing the halt a sweeping move that could have disrupted shipments from popular e-commerce sites like China-based Temu and Shein.
The postal service and Customs and Border Protection will be “working closely together” to implement an “efficient collection mechanism” to ensure the tariffs do not disrupt shipments, USPS said.It’s not immediately clear whether the suspension impacted business for the low-cost retailers Temu and Shein.
Both companies rely on the “de minimis” trade provision, which allows packages valued at $800 or less to be sent to the U.S. without additional duties or taxes, though this was eliminated by Trump’s tariff order on Tuesday.
The GOP-led House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found Temu and Shein are “likely responsible” for more than 30% of de minimis shipments into the U.S., and “likely nearly half” of all de minimis shipments from China. Neither Temu’s parent PDD nor Shein immediately responded to a request for comment.
The USPS announced late Tuesday it would temporarily suspend all incoming packages from China and Hong Kong “until further notice.” The postal service did not specify a reason for the suspension, noting the pause impacted international packages, not the “flow of letters” and large envelopes.
A pause on package shipments from China follows the Trump administration implementing a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods, which closed the “de minimis” exemption.
