Hongkong Post said on Wednesday it will suspend mail service on April 27 for small parcels sent by air to the United States, escalating the trade war between Washington and Beijing after the United States announced plans to eliminate duty-free treatment for small-dollar goods from China and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s postal service also said it has immediately cut off acceptance of shipments moving to the U.S. by ocean. Postal items in its system that have not yet shipped will be returned to senders.
Hongkong Post said the moves are in response to “bullying” by the Trump administration, which is canceling a tariff-free program for parcels from China and Hong Kong effective May 2. The de minimis program for goods valued below $800 enticed online marketplaces and other merchants to ship digital orders directly to U.S. consumers rather than to distribution agents who must file formal customs entries. Parcels from Hong Kong and China moving by post will face a 90% duty or a flat fee of $75. On June 1, the flat fee goes to $150. Shippers can choose each month which method they prefer.
Parcels moving by commercial channels will be subject to a new 145% tariff applied by the Trump administration. China has countered with a 125% tariff on U.S. imports. On Wednesday, however, the White House threatened China with tariffs as high as 245% on certain goods found to be imported unfairly.
Hongkong Post said it won’t collect any tariffs on behalf of the United States. Postal items containing documents will not be affected by the new rules, it added.
“For sending items to the US, the public in Hong Kong should be prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the US’s unreasonable and bullying acts,” it said in a news release.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has said the ability of electronic retailers to bypass normal import controls through de minimis has generated a tidal wave of volume and made it difficult to target shipments for smuggling or other illicit purposes.
Nearly 4 million de minimis shipments per day enter the U.S., the majority of them from China. The number of de minimis transactions has increased sevenfold in eight years to nearly 1.4 billion shipments annually, worth $54.5 billion in 2023, according to the agency.
The White House said it ended de minimis for China and Hong Kong parcel shipments over concerns that criminals were taking advantage of the expedited entry system to smuggle fentanyl, a dangerous opioid, and to stop ultra-cheap goods from undercutting U.S. manufacturers and retailers.
Hongkong Post’s actions add to the potential decrease in business for the air cargo industry from the U.S. elimination of de minimis for China and Hong Kong. Air transport is the primary mode used for e-commerce because of its speed. Retailers are expected to shift a large portion of their imports away from air, or to other countries, because of the tariffs. Postal services contract with airlines to move parcels on their behalf.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, but the U.S. has hit it with the same tariffs as China because it no longer enjoys special status as a financial hub under U.S. law.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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