The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it is temporarily halting packages from China and Hong Kong, dealing a blow to Shein, Temu and other e-commerce companies.
USPS didn’t provide details on the reason for the suspension and didn’t provide timing on when the ban might be lifted. Letters will continue to be accepted, USPS said.
The announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an order on tariffs for imports coming from Canada, Mexico and China. The order would have applied a 25 percent tax on goods from Mexico and Canada beginning Tuesday, but were paused for 30 days for negotiations.
The order called for a 10 percent tariffs on imports from China and also sought to address the de minimus exemption that allows for goods coming into the U.S. worth less than $800 to enter duty free.
The exemption has long been called a loophole by those claiming it gives an unfair advantage to companies such as fast-fashion e-tailers Shein and Temu, allowing them to grow exponentially while bypassing paying taxes in many instances.
Shein, which has local offices in downtown Los Angeles, aims to go public in London. Its IPO, however, is being challenged, most recently on Monday from a group against forced labor that’s calling for a judicial review of the fast-fashion company.
The London IPO follows Shein’s attempts to tap the U.S. public markets. However, the company faced pushback from some lawmakers and scrutiny around its supply chain and use of the de minimus exemption.
Overall, imports utilizing de minimis spiked more than 600 percent to over one billion between 2015 and 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A total of 1.4 billion shipments were exempt from taxes using the de minimis exemption last year alone.
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