The US Postal Service (USPS) announced on Wednesday that it will resume accepting incoming international parcels from China, after briefly suspending them the previous day. The decision came as a relief to e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu, which rely heavily on the exemption of de minimis packages worth less than $800 to avoid duties.
The initial suspension was reportedly related to new tariffs imposed by the US government on Tuesday, which would require customs inspections on all packages. Inspecting incoming parcels could prove extremely difficult, with over a billion packages already arriving in the US at low prices.
Experts warn that the termination of the de minimis exemption will have significant practical challenges, including implementing new taxes and inspecting large volumes of packages. Christine McDaniel, a senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, described the impact as “humongous” and stated it would be difficult to implement due to the sheer volume of packages.
In response to the US postal announcement, China’s Foreign Ministry called on the US to “stop politicizing economic and trade issues” and urged Washington to cease its “unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies.” The move comes as Beijing has retaliated against new US tariffs with a package of economic measures, including 15% taxes on certain types of coal and liquefied natural gas.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/04/business/us-postal-service-suspends-parcels-china-intl-hnk/index.html