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China and Hong Kong’s e-commerce market has suffered a double hit in recent days as the US Postal Service (USPS) has unexpectedly suspended the handling of packages from both China and Hong Kong just days after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed that shipments would no longer benefit from the de minimis exemption.
The USPS made its unexpected announcement yesterday without explaining the move. In a service alert, the mail provider said it would "temporarily suspend only international package acceptance of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong Posts until further notice”.
Although no reason was given for the suspension, the move follows hot on the heels of the Trump administration’s decision to add tariffs of 10% on imports from China.
The tariffs also remove China’s ability to benefit from the de minimis exemption that allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the country without paying duties and with minimal customs scrutiny.
In a service bulletin, CBP said: ”Effective 4 February 2025, such goods may not receive so-called “de minimis” clearance and enter duty and tax free.
"Requests for de minimis entry and clearance for ineligible shipments will be rejected. The filer/importer has the option of filing an appropriate formal or other informal entry and paying all applicable duties, taxes and fees."
CBP added it is the responsibility of the trade community to monitor "unarrived conveyances".
"Filers need to monitor messaging for their shipments and take appropriate action to clear the shipments under the auspices of the executive order," US customs added.
US president Donald Trump implemented the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a measure to tackle the “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs”, according to a press release from The White House.
However, the US has also expressed concern about its trade imbalance with China, amongst a host of other trade partners, in recent months.
The number of de minimis shipments coming into the US has risen rapidly in recent years with the rise of e-commerce players such as Temu and Shien, which are thought to be responsible for around 30% of e-commerce heading into the US.
On average, CBP processes over 4m de minimis shipments into the US each day, up from around 1.9m per day in 2022.
Data from Rotate shows that 1.2m tonnes of low-value e-commerce are imported into the US by air cargo each year.
The air cargo market is still picking apart the impact of the de minimis exemption and tariff annoucement, with e-commerce having fuelled rapid market growth over recent years.
While some are concerned it could have a large impact, others have suggested the effects could be more limited.
At the recent World Cargo Summit, Swissport’s vice president for e-commerce Nikolia Schaffner said the average value of an e-commerce package is between $15 and $18 meaning even a tax of 20% is absorbable.
Temu and Shien have also in the past said they are prepared for any changes to the de minimis exemption.
There is also hope that a deal could be reached between China and the US.
When announcing the new tariffs on China, the US also said it planned to implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico linked to concerns over the drug trade and immigration but these were suspended for a month after talks between the various leaders.
Trump is also due to talk with China's president, Xi Jinping, in the coming days but there has been no further update from the Whitehouse.
In the meantime, China has hit back with tariffs of its own. Beijing has announced 15% tariffs on coal and liquefied natural gas, and 10% on crude oil, farm equipment, large-displacement vehicles and pickup trucks from the US.
