Hong Kong's post office will cease handling small parcels bound for the United States, following Washington's decision to end "de minimis" exemptions for shipments under US$800 from China and Hong Kong.
Hongkong Post said it will stop sending small-dollar parcels to the U.S. by air starting April 27 and will immediately halt acceptance of ocean-bound shipments. Postal items already in the system that have not yet been shipped will be returned to the senders.
Hong Kong Post criticised the U.S. decision to end duty-free entry for packages valued under US$800, calling the move "unreasonable."
"The Government of the United States (US) announced earlier that it would eliminate the duty-free de minimis treatment for postal items despatched from Hong Kong to the US and increase the tariffs for postal items containing goods to the US starting from May 2," the Hong Kong government agency said.
"The US is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively," it added. "Hongkong Post will definitely not collect any so-called tariffs on behalf of the US and will suspend the acceptance of postal items containing goods destined to the US."
Hongkong Post announced it will immediately suspend acceptance of surface mail containing goods bound for the U.S., citing longer shipping times. The policy takes effect on April 16.
"Where senders have posted surface postal items containing goods that have not yet been shipped to the US, Hongkong Post will contact the senders to arrange for return of items and postage refund starting from April 22," it added.
"Regarding the air mail, Hongkong Post will suspend the acceptance of air postal items containing goods destined to the US starting from April 27," it said.
Hong Kong's post office also warned of steep fees for shipping items to the US as its trade conflict with China, the world's two largest trading partners, intensifies.
"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," HongKong Post said.
It clarified that other postal items containing documents only, without goods, will not be affected.
The US announced earlier this month that it will terminate its “de minimis” exemption for imports from China and Hong Kong on May 2, 2025 — a provision used by many ecommerce companies to send goods valued at less than US$800 into the U.S. duty-free amid what Washington called an ongoing health emergency posed by the illicit flow of synthetic opioids into the U.S.
The “de minimis” rule has triggered the surge in affordable goods being shipped from China to the U.S., creating a competitive advantage for these low-value shipments.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported processing over 1.3 billion de minimis shipments in 2024, with the Chinese commerce companies Temu and Shein accounting for more than 30% of these shipments. It stated that "nearly half" of all de minimis shipments also likely originated from China.
On February 1, U.S. President Donald Trump suspended the exemption as part of new tariffs that imposed an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods. He then signed an executive order suspending the closing of the “de minimis” trade exemption hours after due to a lack of infrastructure and workable solutions for customs and postal services to manage the volume and procedure.
