US Postal Service blocks all small parcels from China, crippling ecommerce firms like Temu and Shein

February 5, 2025

The USPS has new obligations to inspect incoming parcels from China and Hong Kong
Rules previously granted exemption to parcels valued under $800 from customs duties and inspection
The new tariffs take indirect aim at ecommerce platforms that host sellers operating in these regions

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has begun rejecting international parcels from China and Hong Kong following the former’s introduction of tariffs on US imports in retaliation against President Trump’s own introduction of a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.

In a short statement (via CNN) the USPS said the measure would be in place until “further notice”, but also, “the flow of letters and flats from China and Hong Kong will not be impacted”.

The move is almost certainly going to impact the day-to-day business of ecommerce platforms such as Temu, Shein, Wish and AliExpress, who often rely on sellers from these territories to list products that are often shipped as small parcels.

USPS China parcel ban

To remain financially sustainable, and viable to end users, these platforms have, up to now, generally relied on what was known as the “de minimis” exemption, which allowed anyone to ship parcels worth less than $800 to the US and not be subject to exemption or taxes. The past tense is important here, as the President ended de minimis via executive order (external paywall) earlier in February 2025.

“This is a significant challenge for [USPS] because there were 4 million de minimis packages per day in 2024, and it is difficult to check all the packages — so it will take time,” wrote Chelsey Tam, a Morningstar senior equity analyst, in a research note according to CNN.

Other multinational delivery firms, such as UPS, DHL, and FedEx, are also expected to respond, perhaps via a similar blanket refusal of packages from China and Hong Kong.

Retaliatory Chinese tariffs

China’s own tariffs on goods to the US, set to take effect on 10 February, 2025, are wide-ranging and potentially set the stage for a trade war that’ll affect much more than consumers being prevented from, to take Temu’s slogan, ‘shopping like billionaires’.

In addition to a 15% tax on coal and gas, plus 10% on oil and certain vehicles such as those in the agricultural sector, it also introduced new export controls on several metal products and associated technologies, while adding biotech and life science research firm Illumina and clothing company PVH Group to its list of ‘unreliable entities’; sending their share prices plummeting.

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said, “China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights of Chinese companies,” and called the US’ tariffs “unreasonable suppression” of its busn

Washington must “cease its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies,” spokesman Lin Jian said when asked about the US postal announcement. “China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights of Chinese companies.”