Hongkong Post has resumed accepting US-bound parcels, the city’s postal authorities said, following Washington’s confirmation that it would not impose additional tariffs on packages from Hong Kong.
In a statement on Monday night, Hongkong Post said that “as the United States Authorities have confirmed that additional duty would not be imposed for postal items containing goods despatched from Hongkong Post to the United States, acceptance of postal items containing goods destined to the United States will be resumed starting from tomorrow (February 11).”
Hongkong Post refused to accept US-bound packages last week after the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced on Tuesday that it would temporarily suspend inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong – only to reverse it a day later.
The USPS announcement came after US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10 per cent levy on Chinese products amid a growing trade war between Washington and Beijing.
A day after the USPS said it would halt receiving parcels from China and Hong Kong, it did a U-turn and said it would continue accepting them.
“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,” an update on the USPS’s website read.
Trump also initially revoked the “de minimise” allowance, which exempts small packages worth under US$800 (HK$6,230) from US duties. The exception was considered a long-held “loophole” used by China-linked e-commerce firms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress. But the move was postponed last Friday.
In its statement, Hongkong Post also reminded the public that the US government’s policies may change at any time and that there may be backlogs of US-bound mail.
Separate customs territory
Hong Kong authorities have condemned the US’s additional 10 per cent tariffs on the city’s goods, saying last Wednesday that it ignored the “basic fact” that the city is a separate customs territory.
The government also said it would complain to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In a statement on Friday, it called the US’s measures “grossly inconsistent” with WTO rules and said that the city was seeking to defend its “legitimate rights.”
