US residents expecting packages from China or Hong Kong take note

They reversed this policy the same day... still be aware that there could be further delays.

"UPDATED INFORMATION: International inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong Posts

Effective February 5, 2025, the Postal Service will continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong Posts. 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."

Unless they do low-value exemptions, it will be an extraordinarily expensive policy to enforce (there is a reason most countries let you bring in the low-value stuff in without taxation, and it ain't government charity! Australia found it wasn't worth it for less than AUD 1000, as did NZ)

This has nothing to do with revenue or policy enforcement, it's meant to gum up trade with China, piss people off, and "prove" that the US Postal Service can't do it's "job" and should be privatized.

At least according to the Associated Press, the USPS action was in response to the Trump EO's suspension of the long-standing de minimis exemption for low-value goods coming into the US from China:

https://apnews.com/article/china-tarif ... 8f043605e62a614eaa5134f62

"In addition to imposing a new tariff on Chinese imports, Trump’s executive order also suspended a little-known customs exemption that allowed goods worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free. The order left open the possibility for the loophole to still be used with shipments from other countries. The trade rule, known as 'de minimis,' has existed for nearly a century. It came under greater scrutiny in recent years due to the rapidly growing number of low-cost items from China coming into the U.S. tax-free, mainly from prominent online retailers such as Shein, Temu and Alibaba’s AliExpress."

So while delivery of smaller packages has resumed, I presume US folks can expect to pay higher import duties on them going forward.