Home USPS halts packages from China and Hong Kong amid new tariff rules, affecting Shein and Temu

USPS halts packages from China and Hong Kong amid new tariff rules, affecting Shein and Temu

The US Postal Service (USPS) has announced that it is temporarily stopping the acceptance of inbound international packages from China and Hong Kong Posts until further notice. However, regular letters won’t be affected by this suspension.

USPS didn’t provide a specific reason for the decision, but the move comes just as new rules went into effect on Tuesday (Feb. 4). The rules close a loophole that previously allowed small packages valued at $800 or less, to enter the US without being subject to taxes or fees.

This was one of the measures announced by President Donald Trump when he slapped an additional 10% tariff on all goods coming into the US from China.

Why is the USPS suspending parcels from China?

A big part of the discussion revolves around the “de minimis” tax loophole, which has been under increasing scrutiny. The loophole allowed small packages to enter the US without paying taxes or fees, and Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu have used it to reach millions of American shoppers. As online shopping has exploded, the number of these tax-free packages has skyrocketed, making it nearly impossible for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to track every single one.

To put things into perspective, CBP reported that in fiscal year 2024, over 1.36 billion de minimis packages entered the the country, which is almost 10 times the number from 2015. That breaks down to a staggering 3.7 million packages per day, many of which are now being flagged for review at the border for the first time.

However, changes to this tax exemption were already in the works before Trump took office, under President Joe Biden. However, in a recent trade policy announcement, Trump went further, extending tariffs to all Chinese imports, including popular items like fashion and toys.

In response, China has fired back, saying it will impose its own tariffs on certain US imports. This could mean further escalation in the ongoing trade tensions between the two countries.

One user on social media spotted that Chinese brand Shein had already switched provider on the same day. Whether that will continue to be the trend remains to be seen.

Featured image: Canva

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Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

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