Entering Chinathe United States Postal Service (USPS) announced on Tuesday (February 4) evening local time that it would suspend receiving packages sent from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, China from February 4 until further notice.
The USPS statement said letters and plain copies are not included in the suspension.
USPS did not provide a reason for the suspension or say how long the suspension will last.
On February 1, local time, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order to impose 10% tariffs on goods imported from China, and also waved the tariff stick to neighboring Mexico and Canada. The latest tariffs will come into effect on February 4.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce responded on February 2 that China is strongly dissatisfied with this, firmly opposes it, and will take countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
Notably, Trump’s executive order removes the U.S. “minimum” tariff exclusion for small goods worth less than $800, which is expected to have an impact on sales at cheap online retailers such as Temu and Shein and undermine the global competitiveness of Chinese e-commerce.
The current duty-free measures for imports under $800 in the United States have also contributed to the rapid growth of e-commerce companies such as Shein and Temu, which ship millions of small packages to the United States every day.
In the 30s of the 20th century, the U.S. Congress set up an exemption for small parcels to reduce the hassle of American tourists bringing souvenirs home from abroad. In 2016, the U.S. Congress amended Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to raise the minimum amount of the small tax exemption from $200 to $800.
Since then, the number of packages entering the U.S. under “small exemptions” has increased rapidly, from about 140 million a decade ago to more than 1 billion last year. But in recent years, its use has come under increasing scrutiny. Last September, the Biden administration took steps to curb the excessive use and abuse of “de minimum” provisions.
In response to the tightening “de minimum” clauses in the US, Temu has previously responded that the company has denied that its growth relies on “de minimum” clauses. Shein’s latest response said import compliance was a “top priority” and that the company supported U.S. efforts to reform the “de minimum” provisions.
And with the end of the waiver of the “de minimum” clause, Temu and Shein are also looking to other strategies. For example, since last year, Temu has begun attracting Chinese sellers with inventory in U.S. warehouses to its website to ship packages from U.S. to U.S. shoppers. Shein has also opened a distribution center and supply chain center in the United States.
According to CCTV, CNN reported on February 2 that Trump’s tariff policy is a $1.4 trillion “gamble”. Tariffs are Trump’s favorite “economic weapon.” Trump signed an executive order on the 1st, announcing tariffs on imports worth about $1.4 trillion, more than three times the value of the goods subject to tariffs during Trump’s first term. The report quoted analysts as saying that “this is a huge gamble” and that it concerns two things that American voters are most concerned about: the economy and the cost of living. Analysts point out that Trump’s new tariffs could pose significant risks, such as slowing the economy, rising inflation, triggering stock market volatility, and stifling jobs in a “trade war.” The report pointed out that imposing such high tariffs on such a wide range of goods is a risky strategy. Brusueras, chief economist at Roschenmei International Accounting Firm, said that “the US government is playing with fire”.
