The U.S. Postal Service suspended all inbound packages from China and Hong Kong "until further notice" Tuesday night without explanation, adding that "the flow of letters and flats from China and Hong Kong will not be impacted." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The United States Postal Service has suspended all inbound packages from China and Hong Kong "until further notice," according to a statement released by USPS on Tuesday night.
The USPS statement called it a "temporary service disruption," without providing an explanation.
"Effective Feb. 4, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend only international package acceptance of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong Posts until further notice," according to the statement.
"Note the flow of letters and flats from China and Hong Kong will not be impacted."
While USPS did not provide a reason for the suspension, the announcement comes days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end a long-standing exemption, known as "de minimus," which allows exporters to ship packages to the United States without inspections or duties, if they are worth less than $800.
Chinese e-commerce firms, including Shein and PDD Holdings Temu, have used the de minimus provision to expand sales in the United States by offering extremely low prices on electronics, clothing and furniture.
The USPS announcement also comes the same day Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs in response to President Trump's new 10% tariff on Chinese imports, announced over the weekend. Trump has accused Beijing of failing to stop fentanyl precursor chemicals from making their way to drug cartels and the United States.
In response to the Trump tariffs, which went into effect Tuesday, China applied a 10% tariff on 72 U.S. exports, including crude oil, farm machinery and large-engine cars. A 15% tariff was imposed on eight products, including coal and liquefied natural gas coming from the United States.
Trump has said he plans to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping sometime this week.