Things are moving at breakneck speed under the new Trump administration — and it’s fascinating to watch it all unfold. It’s also a bit disorienting at times. Not only is the administration essentially flooding the zone with executive actions and policy moves, but some moves are being made and then swiftly reversed.
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Take, for instance, the United States Postal Service. The service announced Tuesday evening that it was suspending all packages from China and Hong Kong “until further notice,” following the imposition of a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods.
🚨Update: US Postal Service suspends packages from China and Hong Kong until further notice! pic.twitter.com/XBJGgDjm33
— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) February 5, 2025
However, by Wednesday morning, that decision had been reversed.
The post office announced Tuesday that it would no longer accept parcels from the China and Hong Kong after the U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and ended a customs exception that allowed small value parcels to enter the U.S. without paying tax.
The Postal Service gave no reason for the reversal, but said it would work with Customs and Border Protection to implement a collection process for the new China tariffs to avoid delivery disruptions.
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The ban had the potential to create massive disruptions for online shopping platforms like Shein and Temu, popular with younger shoppers in the U.S. for cheap clothing and other products, usually shipped directly from China.
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The USPS has not given a reason for the ban or the reversal. On its website, there is simply the following announcement/update:
Effective February 5, 2025, the Postal Service will continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong Posts. 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.
This is a developing story. RedState will provide further updates as they become available.
