US Postal Service ends China parcel suspension, works to reduce disruption

By James Pomfret, Lisa Barrington and Casey Hall

February 5, 2025 – 6:19 AM PST

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A United States Postal Service (USPS) collection box is pictured in Washington, U.S., December 18, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

HONG KONG/SEOUL/SHANGHAI, Feb 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service said on Wednesday it would accept parcels from China and Hong Kong again after a temporary suspension following President Donald Trump scrapping a trade provision used by retailers including Temu, Shein, and Amazon (AMZN.O) to ship low-value packages duty-free to the United States.

“The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery,” it said in a statement.

The Trump administration imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and closed the “de minimis” exemption that allows packages from China worth less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free.

USPS did not immediately comment on whether its temporary suspension had been tied to Trump’s order ending de minimis shipments from China, which was announced on Saturday and came into force from one minute past midnight on Tuesday.

“There has really been absolutely zero time for anyone to prepare for this,” said Maureen Cori, co-founder of New York-based consultancy Supply Chain Compliance. “What we really need is direction from the government on how to handle this without warning or notice.”

Currently, de minimis parcels are consolidated so that customs can clear hundreds or thousands of shipments at once, but they will now require individual clearances, significantly increasing the burden for postal services, brokers and customs agents, Cori said.

The provision was initially intended as a way to streamline trade, and its use has surged with the increase in online shopping.

About 1.36 billion shipments entered the United States using the de minimis provision in 2024, up 36% from 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

GREATER SCRUTINY

Logistics provider Easyship warned clients who regularly send sub-$800 shipments to the United States that they are likely to face much greater scrutiny and advised them to set up distribution centers within the country or partner with a local warehouse or U.S. fulfillment center.

Some other international couriers including FedEx (FDX.N) and SF Express, China’s largest express delivery company, said they will continue to send packages to the United States.

But FedEx said it had suspended its money-back guarantee for U.S.-inbound shipments effective Jan. 29, citing recent regulatory changes, according to a notice on its website.

Deutsche Post-owned DHL (DHLn.DE) said it was working to avoid disruption to supply chains and limit negative impacts on customers and consumers.

Fast-fashion retailer Shein and online dollar-store Temu, both of which sell products ranging from toys to smartphones, have grown rapidly in the United States thanks in part to the de minimis exemption.

The two firms together likely accounted for more than 30% of all packages shipped to the United States each day under the de minimis provision, the U.S. congressional committee on China said in a June 2023 report, that also found nearly half of all packages shipped under de minimis come from China.

Shein and Temu did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

^{Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru, Casey Hall, Brenda Goh in Shanghai, Lisa Barrington in Seoul, Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Anne Marie Roantree, Clare Jim, James Pomfret and Jessie Pang in Hong Kong, Greg Bensinger in Washington and Helen Reid in London; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Shri Navaratnam, Saad Sayeed, Louise Heavens and Mark Porter}

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