US Postal Service halts China suspension after stoking trade fear
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The USPS said on Feb 5 that it would continue accepting packages from China and Hong Kong.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – The US Postal Service (USPS) said on Feb 5 that it would continue accepting packages from China and Hong Kong, hours after an order to suspend shipments
Tensions between the US and China have soared in recent days as the world’s two largest economies slapped a volley of tariffs on each other’s imports, hitting hundreds of billions of dollars in trade.
As part of Mr Trump’s trade actions – which he enacted citing drug trafficking concerns – the US on Feb 4 scrapped a duty-free exemption for low-value packages.
The “de minimis” exemption allows goods valued at US$800 (S$1,080) or below to enter the US without paying duties or certain taxes but has faced scrutiny due to a surge in shipments in recent years.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency said in January that exemption shipments were worth more than US$1.36 billion in 2024, creating challenges for its enforcement of trade laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights and consumer protection rules.
US officials have pointed to the growth of Chinese-founded online retailers Shein and Temu as a key factor behind the increase – and the Feb 4 halt threatened major delays to parcels from both companies to entering the country.
The developments at the USPS came as the latest data showed the US trade deficit swelled in 2024 to its second largest on record, a metric that Mr Trump has used in the past to justify trade battles with China and others.
In an apparent climbdown, the USPS on the morning of Feb 5 said it would “continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong Posts”.
Without further details, it said: “The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery.”
Beijing had responded with fury to the move, accusing the US of “politicising trade and economic issues and using them as tools”.
Vowing to “take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian accused Washington of “unreasonable suppression”.
AFP has reached out to Shein and Temu for comment.
Other retailers such as Amazon might also be impacted by the “de minimis” removal.
The low-cost retailers took another hit on Feb 5 as the European Commission announced it would seek to impose new fees on e-commerce imports – the bulk of which come from China.
The measures are part of efforts to tackle a surge of “harmful” products into the bloc.
Tariff stand-off
Beijing on Feb 4 said it would impose levies on imports of US energy, vehicles and equipment
A day earlier, Mr Trump suspended duties on Mexico and Canada
Beijing’s moves hit roughly US$20 billion worth of US goods per year – roughly 12 per cent of total American imports into China, according to calculations by Capital Economics.
But their impact is a far cry from US tariffs announced over the weekend,
Although earlier it appeared that US parcels could still be sent from Macau, by the evening of Feb 5, the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s post office announced that its service was also suspended.
Mr Trump had signalled earlier that the talks with Mr Xi could take place early this week, but addressing reporters at the White House on the afternoon of Feb 4, he said he was in “no rush”. AFP
