The U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday reversed course a day after placing a ban on all inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong.
The post office announced Tuesday that it would no longer accept parcels from China and Hong Kong after the U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and ended a customs exception that allowed small-value parcels to enter the U.S. without paying tax.
The Postal Service gave no reason for the reversal but said it would work with Customs and Border Protection to implement a collection process for the new China tariffs to avoid delivery disruptions.
Tensions between the U.S. and China have soared in recent days as the world's two largest economies slapped a volley of tariffs on each others' imports, hitting hundreds of billions of dollars in trade.
The ban announced on Tuesday had the potential to create massive disruptions for online shopping platforms like Shein and Temu, popular with younger shoppers in the U.S. for cheap clothing and other products, usually shipped directly from China.
Cheap, direct postal service helps these companies keep costs low, as did the "de minimis” exemption that previously allowed shipments to go tax-free if their value is under $800.
The suspension by USPS would have likely created delays in shipments and potentially higher prices for the companies that rely on rock-bottom pricing for huge sales.
One day after the U.S. Postal Service said in a notice that it would stop accepting inbound parcels until further notice, it said Wednesday that it would "continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong.”
Letters and flats – mail that measures up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) long or 3/4 inches (1.9 centimeters) thick – were not included in the brief ban.
The USPS did not give a reason for the ban Tuesday, but the suspension came after Trump closed the "de minimis” customs exemption this week that allowed shoppers and importers to avoid duties on packages worth below $800.
The exemption was removed as part of an executive order to levy a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection previously stated that it processes an average of over four million "de minimis” imports each week.
