February 5th 2025.
Less than a day after the U.S. Postal Service made the surprising announcement that they would be halting all shipments from China, they have now reversed their decision, bringing a sense of relief to avid shoppers of Shein and Temu, according to CNBC.
It all started on February 4th, when fans of these popular e-commerce retailers were taken aback by the news that USPS would not be accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong until further notice. However, just one day later, on February 5th, things seemed to have gone back to normal.
In a post, the postal agency stated that they are working closely with Customs and Border Protection to establish an efficient system for the new China tariffs, in order to minimize disruptions in package delivery. This change came after President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods, as well as his recent decision to hold off on imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days. As part of the deal, Trump also closed the trade loophole known as "de minimis," which allowed packages under $800 to be shipped to the U.S. without any duties.
The initial suspension caught the attention of Shein and Temu fans, as well as customers of other popular online shops such as Amazon and Fashion Nova. This sparked concern on social media, with users questioning if this meant that these packages would also be stopped. One user, @daezsanryo, tweeted "Soooo...most packages from Amazon, eBay, Shein...are just gonna be stopped...?? Do they know how much stuff comes from China?"
Others, like @miralaluna, voiced their frustration about how this would affect their purchases from multiple online stores, stating "Baby this affects purchases from Amazon, Temu, Shein, Fashion Nova, literally any online store you purchase from. If you can't find something locally, you're out of luck!"
Some even called out President Trump directly, blaming him for the disruption of shipments from popular online retailers. User @boochieisthename tweeted "SHEIN, Temu, Aliexpress will be halted from shipping here. Trump is ruining everything chile."
Rob Handfield, a supply chain management professor at North Carolina State University, suggests that U.S. lawmakers may have wanted to appear tough on China, but other concerns and pressures have led to this policy change being reversed. Some have also raised concerns about labor practices in China, but it is unclear why China has been targeted by the Trump administration.
Although the Biden-Harris administration has previously criticized the "abusive" de minimis exemption, with over a billion shipments a year, it is clear that this policy change has been met with backlash and concern from both consumers and retailers alike.
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