A worker from the United States postal services pushed a trolley of packages in New York on December 4, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The American postal service said on Tuesday that it temporarily suspended all the incoming packages of China and Hong Kong.
The change is in force immediately and will remain “until further notice”. According to an alert Posted on the agency’s website. Letters and large envelopes, called “apartments”, sent by China and Hong Kong will not be affected, said the USPS.
The announcement comes after President Donald Trump signed executive decrees imposing prices on China, Mexico and Canada on Saturday. Trump agreed on Monday to maintain the taxation of 25% prices in Canada and Mexico for 30 days, but the 10% tax on the goods in China remains.
A provision of orders eliminates a popular commercial escape, known as “of Minmis”, which allows exporters to ship plans worth less than $ 800 in the Duty Free.
The minimis offer was an essential tool for Chinese electronic commerce companies, including Shein and PDD holdings“TEMU, while they seek to increase their presence in the United States by offering rock prices on everything, clothing and furniture to electronics and interior decoration.
The United States has dealt with more than 1.3 billion minimis deliveries in 2024, According to data of the American customs and border protection agency. A 2023 report American house The restricted committee of the Chinese Communist Party noted that Temu and Shein are “probably responsible” for more than 30% of all the packages sent to the United States under Minmis, and “probably almost half” of all expeditions from minimis come from China.
The post in China and the Hong Kong position are operated by the government Postal services. It is not clear if the suspension also applies to sending of China and Hong Kong packages sent via private messaging factors. In response to a clarification request, a USPS spokesperson pointed to the CNBC to the agency’s initial announcement.
The legislators argued that minimis imports give Chinese companies an unjust advantage by allowing them to bypass the prices. Business managers also said that the minimis packages are “Subject to minimum documentation and inspection” Raise product safety problems.
Commercial organizations and advocacy groups prompted Trump to curb minimis expeditions because they argue that it has allowed illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, entering the United States by mail.
If subject to prices, it is not clear if Temu, Shein and other Chinese electronic commerce platforms will be able to support spectacular growth in the United States
Temu and Shein previously said that their commercial models were not based on Minmis. Shein and Temu have Open distribution centers In the United States, allowing sellers to China to send goods to the United States and store them in local warehouses.
The tendency to open US warehouses for national distribution took off last year while major electronic business companies sought to cover themselves against new commercial restrictions, said Wen Biao, CEO of the logistics company Based in Shenzhen Qianhe Technology Logistics.
Biao said that his company’s warehouse in Los Angeles saw the “explosive” demand, according to a CNBC translation of Mandarin language remarks from Wen.
– CNBC Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.
