HONG KONG — The U.S. Postal Service reversed course Wednesday, saying it will proceed to just accept all inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong. Someday earlier, the USPS mentioned it wouldn’t be accepting parcels from the China and Hong Kong after the U.S. imposed an extra 10% tariff on Chinese language items and ended a customs exception that allowed small worth parcels to enter the U.S. with out paying tax. The USPS mentioned Wednesday that it was working with Customs and Border Safety to implement a group course of for the brand new China tariffs to keep away from supply disruptions.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows beneath.
HONG KONG — Individuals are prone to pay extra for merchandise from fashionable Chinese language e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu because the U.S. Postal Service mentioned it will cease accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong.
The transfer was introduced Tuesday, coming after the U.S. imposed an extra 10% tariff on Chinese language items and ended a customs exception that allowed small worth parcels to enter the U.S. with out paying tax. Canada and Mexico managed to barter a month-long reprieve from 25% tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
It’ll doubtless impression on-line buying locations like Shein and Temu, fashionable with youthful consumers within the U.S. for reasonable clothes and different merchandise, normally shipped instantly from China.
Low-cost, direct postal service helps these corporations hold prices low, as did the “de minimis” exemption that beforehand allowed shipments to go tax-free if their worth is below $800.
The non permanent suspension by USPS is prone to delay shipments and will imply greater costs in the long run.
The U.S. Postal Service mentioned in a discover that it will quickly cease accepting inbound parcels from the China and Hong Kong Posts till additional discover.
Letters and flats – mail that measures as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) lengthy or 3/4 inches (1.9 centimeters) thick – are usually not affected.
The USPS didn’t state a purpose in a short announcement, however the suspension got here after Trump closed the “de minimis” customs exemption this week that allowed consumers and importers to keep away from duties on packages price beneath $800.
The exemption was eliminated as a part of an government order to levy a ten% tariff on Chinese language items.
U.S. Customs and Border Safety beforehand said that it processes a median of over 4 million “de minimis” imports every week.
Customers and corporations alike will not have the ability to ship parcels to the U.S. from Hong Kong or China.
This transfer is prone to impression Chinese language e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu, though Shein is prone to be extra affected, in response to Jacob Cooke, CEO of e-commerce advertising company WPIC Advertising + Applied sciences.
Each corporations have vital market share within the U.S.
“In comparison with Temu, Shein depends extra closely on USPS for direct-to-consumer transport from China, and with out this channel, it must rely extra on personal carriers,” mentioned Cooke.
“That may enhance logistics prices, which together with the latest scrapping of the de minimis exemption for many merchandise from China, may erode its worth benefit.”
Cooke mentioned Temu operates on a semi-consignment mannequin and infrequently ships bulk orders to the U.S. earlier than fulfilling orders domestically.
“Temu’s mannequin of sourcing low-cost items also needs to allow the platform to soak up greater logistics prices and stay worth aggressive,” he mentioned.
Shein and Temu didn’t instantly remark.
Chinese language International Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian mentioned China would take “essential measures” to guard its corporations, and urged the U.S. to “cease politicizing financial and commerce points and utilizing them as a instrument, and to cease unreasonably suppressing Chinese language corporations.”
It’s unclear how lengthy the USPS suspension will final, however the effort to crack down on the de minimis excemption looks as if a longer-term shift in coverage, Cooke mentioned.
“Shein and Temu will merely must rely extra on personal carriers as a workaround to the USPS suspension,” he mentioned.
In the long run, Shein may speed up its warehouse enlargement within the U.S., whereas Temu can double down on its semi-consignment mannequin. By transport in bulk to the U.S. and fulfilling orders domestically, logistics price may be lowered, Cooke mentioned.
“Delivery in bulk to the U.S. and fulfilling domestically can cut back logistics prices, however for Shein, this poses a longer-term disruption to their enterprise mannequin which has relied on quickly growing new SKUs and transport them on to shoppers,” Cooke mentioned.
