USPS to temporarily suspend parcels from China
The United states Postal Service (USPS) has reversed its earlier announcement to suspend receiving packages from China and Hong Kong. This decision came amidst a backdrop of escalating trade tensions,as China filed a lawsuit against the U.S. at the World Trade Association due to a 10% tariff imposed by President Donald Trump on Chinese goods, which was reciprocated by China. The temporary suspension of USPS services would have considerably impacted e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu, along wiht Amazon, which relies heavily on USPS for package deliveries.
Despite the initial suspension, USPS stated that it is indeed collaborating with Customs and Border Protection to implement an efficient system for managing the new tariffs with minimal disruption to delivery. A significant portion of Amazon products comes from china, highlighting the importance of these logistics.Under Trump’s executive order, a customs exemption for goods valued under $800 has been removed, increasing costs for overseas purchases. While former president Biden maintained many of these tariffs, he has continued to impose additional tariffs, culminating in a significant raise against $18 billion worth of Chinese goods announced in 2024.
The USPS reported a net loss of $9.5 billion in 2024, prompting price increases for various mailing services and raising concerns about the financial sustainability of the postal service.
Postal Service reverses suspension of parcels from China and Hong Kong
The United States Postal Service will continue receiving packages from China and Hong Kong after it announced that it would suspend them.
China filed a lawsuit against the U.S. with the World Trade Organization over the 10% tariff President Donald Trump imposed against them. Additionally, it issued its own 10% tariff on U.S. goods.
The USPS announced that it would suspend Chinese packages until further notice, which proved to be hours after the announcement. This would have affected e-commerce sites such as Shein and Temu, which are China-based, but it also would have affected Amazon. USPS currently delivers about 9% of all Amazon packages.
“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,” the USPS website read.
A Jungle Scout survey among sellers from Amazon found that more than 70% of products come at least in part from China. No other country came close despite the fact that sellers were able to cite more than one country in the survey. Meanwhile, the U.S. accounted for less than a third of products.
Amazon remains the USPS’s biggest client. Last year, first-class mail decreased to 44 billion after consecutive decreases. However, shipping and packages increased by over 100 million.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Amazon for comment.
Trump’s executive order announcing the tariffs removed a customs exemption that allowed foreign packages to avoid tariffs for goods worth less than $800. This “de minimis” exemption will likely last as long as the tariffs do. After negotiations with their respective leaders, Trump has already paused similar tariffs against Canada and Mexico.
Other tariffs against China were already in place from Trump’s first term, which former President Joe Biden largely kept in place. The last tariff raised against China was in May 2024, when Biden announced tariffs against $18 billion worth of Chinese goods and effectively raised sale taxes in the U.S. by $3.6 billion.
USPS reported a net loss of $9.5 billion in 2024, over $3 billion more than the year before. As a result, the service increased stamp prices to 73 cents and Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express prices by 3.2%, along with USPS Ground Advantage prices. Parcel Select services, which apply to large-volume shipping, saw the largest price hike at 9.2%.
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