Hongkong Post Stops US Package Service, China E-Commerce Stocks Drop

Hongkong Post announced on Wednesday that it would suspend its postal services for parcels containing goods to the United States, citing what it described as the U.S. government’s “bullying” and “unreasonable” actions regarding new tariffs and postal fees.

The Details: Effective immediately, Hongkong Post has stopped accepting parcels containing goods for delivery to the U.S. by land and sea. Acceptance of airmail parcels will also stop on April 27. 

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The move is a direct response to the Trump administration's decision to eliminate the duty-free de minimis exemption for shipments from Hong Kong and to impose steep new tariffs and per-item postal fees on goods entering the U.S.

"The US is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively. 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," the government of Hong Kong said in a statement. 

The suspension comes amid escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. President Donald Trump recently closed the de minimis loophole, which previously allowed small parcels under $800 to enter the U.S. tax-free. 

The new tariffs and fees are part of a broader crackdown on imports from China and Hong Kong after the U.S. accused retailers like Shein and Temu of exploiting the exemption to avoid taxes and customs checks while undercutting American companies. 

Stocks To Watch: Shares of Temu’s parent company, PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), are trading lower on Wednesday. Other Chinese e-commerce giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) and JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) were also down by more than 3% at the time of publication. 

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