Effective immediately and until further notice, the United States Postal Service ( USPS) announced on Tuesday that it is temporarily halting the acceptance of incoming international packages from China and Hong Kong.
US President Donald Trump has instituted fresh trade restrictions, but USPS hasn’t provided an established link between the two. In a speech, the USPS said that email sales will not be affected by this end, as per AFP.
The action comes shortly after Trump’s professional order, which ended the “de minimis” exemption for low-value items, a long-standing legislation that allowed packages worth$ 800 or less to enter the country without paying taxes or checks.
De minimis was used to entice low-cost goods, particularly from Chinese-based e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu, which have experienced rapid growth by making profit of this flaw.
According to the New York Times, the decision to end the duty-free provision has a significant impact on millions of these items, affecting both consumers and businesses in the e-commerce industry.
Trump’s executive order, which went into effect on Tuesday, imposed a 10 % tax on all imports from China, and removed the de minimis law, led to the expulsion of shipment acceptance. This decree is a part of the government’s wider plan to address business imbalances with China and to prevent the importation of fentanyl, among other things.
The change in regulations will now require low-value parcels to be subjected to the same attention as higher-value imports by demanding detailed data and the transaction of taxes on these packages.
Researchers suggest that the increase in piece audits could cause significant delays in shipping even though the USPS has never specifically linked the expulsion to these new regulations.
The sheer volume of international shipping is already a problem for Customs and Border Protection ( CBP), which oversees the inspection of packages entering the nation, and the change in policy is expected to put assets under strain even more.
According to the New York Times, FedEx and UPS, which handle many of these low-value packages, have expressed fears about possible difficulties and supply chain disruptions as a result of the changes.
E-commerce businesses like Shein and Temu may encounter difficulties as a result of new rules. These changes may bag cross-border shopping, particularly for American consumers who depend on low-cost items from other countries.
Amazon could also be impacted, although it has not yet officially commented on the condition, reported AFP.
