(Bloomberg) — The US Postal Service is temporarily suspending inbound international packages from China and Hong Kong Posts, potentially delaying or blocking shipments from retailers like Shein and PDD Holdings Inc.’s (PDD) Temu.
Most Read from Bloomberg
-
New York’s First ‘Passive House’ School Is a Model of Downtown Density
-
Transportation Memos Favor Places With Higher Birth and Marriage Rates
The package freeze highlights a wider challenge to globally-minded businesses from incremental complications, which could be compounded if the US-China trade relationship worsens. The USPS announcement rattled Asian markets, sending shares of Chinese e-commerce retailers down.
“There’s a more macro risk to the market now as all these seem to be an escalation of the trade war between the US and China,” said Nick Twidale, chief analyst at AT Global Markets in Sydney. “I think we we will see these micro issues from both sides increase.”
Shares of Alibaba (BABA, 9988.HK) Group Holding Ltd. fell more than 2% in Hong Kong, and JD.com Inc. (JD, 9618.HK) tumbled more than 5% before paring losses. Both companies, as well as Temu, Shein and Amazon (AMZN), did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While it’s not clear what prompted the USPS move, it comes after President Donald Trump revoked a “de minimis” rule for China, which previously allowed small packages under $800 to enter the US duty-free. This exemption, often used by Chinese-linked e-commerce companies, was removed as part of a new 10% tariff on goods from China and Hong Kong, which took effect just after midnight Tuesday Washington time.
The de minimis revocation is a “significant challenge” for USPS in terms of sorting out how to execute the new tariff rules, said Chelsey Tam, senior equity analyst at Morningstar. “There were 4 million de minimis packages per day in 2024, and it is difficult to check all the packages.”
Small Packages
The USPS restriction may have a more limited impact than it would have years ago, as many companies have moved away from USPS in recent years for international shipping, according to analysts.
USPS said letters and flat mail from China and Hong Kong would not be affected, according to a statement on its website.
A USPS spokesperson declined to comment beyond the announcement, including whether it was related to the order. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.