Hong Kong’s postal service will stop handling packages coming from or going to the United States, in the latest retaliatory move amid an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing. In a statement published Wednesday announcing the decision, the government of Hong Kong cited US President Donald Trump’s decision last week to eliminate the so-called de minimis exception for items posted from the city to the US. The exemption applied to international shipments worth $800 or less entering the US. “The US is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively,” the government said in the statement. “The public in Hong Kong should be prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the US’s unreasonable and bullying acts.”
The government said the postal service, Hongkong Post, will stop accepting packages transported by sea with immediate effect and stop taking airborne packages starting from April 27. Other postal items containing only documents, for example letters, will not be affected. The retaliatory move means companies and individuals in Hong Kong will have to pay private couriers such as FedEx and DHL to deliver packages, further driving up costs for consumers on top of US levies. A DHL spokesman told CNN that it will continue to process shipments to the US, monitor the situation and work with customers to help them keep up with latest changes. CNN has reached out to FedEx and UPS for comment.
Trump signed an executive order earlier this month raising tariffs on goods worth $800 or less sent from China, including Hong Kong, arguing it was being used by retailers to avoid import taxes and customs inspections. Initially, the exemption was set to expire and those goods were set to face tariffs of 30% on May 2. But Trump’s latest executive order last week hiked the rates to 120% (or a “per postal item” cost of $100 starting May 2, which goes up to $200 on June 1).
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