USPS suspends shipments from China and Hong Kong, impacting Shein and Temu orders

What just happened? Bad news for the many American citizens who like to bargain hunt on Chinese shopping platforms Shein and Temu. The US Postal Service has announced that it is suspending all inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong until further notice. The move comes after President Trump ended an exception that allows packages valued under $800 to be shipped to US customers tariff-free.

The Trump administration implemented an additional 10% tariff on a range of products from China on Tuesday, leading to the Asian nation announcing retaliatory measures, including tariffs on US goods and an antitrust investigation into Google.

Trump’s executive order also ended the “de minimis” exemption on import tariffs. The legal term describes the US waiver of standard customs procedures and tariffs on imported items worth less than $800 that are shipped to individuals. The US had one of the world’s highest thresholds for this exemption: it is $169 in the UK and $156 in the EU.

The USPS said that letters and flats, defined as mail that measures up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) long or 3/4 inches (1.9 centimeters) thick, are not affected by the suspension. The postal service did not give an official reason for the move.

The impact of the suspension could be significant. US Customs and Border Protection said it processes an average of over four million de minimis imports each week, with the total volume of these shipments reaching over 1.36 billion in the fiscal 2024 year. Shipments entering the US under the exemption have increased by more than 600% over the last decade.

Image credit: Aranami

The provision covered around 67% of all US-bound shipments from China’s mainland and Hong Kong. Shein will likely be heavily affected as it relies more on USPS for direct-to-consumer shipping from its home country.

Jacob Cooke, CEO of e-commerce marketing agency WPIC Marketing & Technologies, told The Independent that Temu will also be impacted, though to a lesser extent as it often ships bulk orders to the US before fulfilling them domestically.

US buyers of goods from Shein and Temu will likely experience disruption, cancellations, and delays to their parcels over the next couple of days, so customers may want to hold off on any purchases until the situation stabilizes.

Chinese companies are expected to turn to alternative shipping providers such as DHL, FedEx, and UPS for now. Ultimately, the extra costs will probably be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

De minimis shipments have been blamed for enabling illegal drugs, especially fentanyl, to enter the United States through the mail.

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