Hong Kong Post suspends acceptance of surface mail parcels bound for the United States.

Hongkong Post announced that postal services will temporarily stop accepting ordinary mail items containing goods bound for the United States starting from Wednesday, April 16th, and airmail items will not be accepted from April 27th. Mail items containing only documents will not be affected.

The Hongkong Post department stated on Wednesday that they will contact senders who have not yet dispatched items to the United States from April 22nd to arrange for returns and refunds.

The Hongkong Post also mentioned, “The United States government has announced the cancellation of the minimum tax-free treatment for mail from Hong Kong to the United States, and will increase tariffs on mail to the U.S. starting from May 2nd.”

On April 2nd, U.S. President Trump signed an executive order to permanently end the tariff exemption for packages worth less than $800 from China and Hong Kong, effective May 2nd, thus terminating the “de minimis” exemption for small packages.

On April 9th, the White House issued a tariff adjustment executive order by Trump, under which a tariff of $100 per unit will be levied on small parcels entering the U.S. between May 2nd and May 31st, up from $75. For parcels entering after June 1st, a $200 tariff per unit will apply, up from $150. The import tax on “small parcels” is increased from the previously announced 90% to 120%.

The Hong Kong government expressed dissatisfaction with the new U.S. tariffs. It warned that residents sending mail to the U.S. should be prepared to incur high and unreasonable costs.

The Trump administration, congress members, and officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection aim to eliminate the small package exemption trade policy largely due to illicit substances like fentanyl entering the U.S. via low-cost packages.

Hong Kong has long been known as a free and open trade hub, but after China implemented the comprehensive National Security Law in Hong Kong in 2020, then-U.S. President Trump announced the cancellation of Hong Kong’s special trading status.

Subsequently, the U.S. stipulated that goods manufactured in Hong Kong and exported to the U.S. are equivalent to “Made in China,” ending one of Hong Kong’s long-standing competitive advantages as a trading hub.