Hong Kong does not plan to collect tariffs on behalf of the United States and will stop accepting postal items containing goods heading to the U.S.
The official government department for postal service announced the suspension of mail services by sea to the U.S. and a pause in air mail postal service for items containing goods destined for America.
The pause is set to begin April 27, with Hongkong Post saying the decision was in response to U.S. “bullying” over tariffs, per Fox Business.
“For sending items to the U.S., the public in Hong Kong should be prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the U.S.’s unreasonable and bullying acts. Other postal items containing documents only without goods will not be affected,” read the April 16 statement.
In February, Chinese e-commerce giant Temu pivoted to promote more so-called local goods for U.S. consumers. U.S. customs defines local shipments as those delivered to American buyers from a U.S. warehouse, despite the item possibly originating in a foreign country.
Temu’s shift was a response to the Trump administration’s move to eliminate the ‘de minimis’ exemption on imports, which meant goods entering the U.S. valued at $800 or less were not subject to tariffs.
Beginning May 2, postal items dispatched from Hong Kong—a special administrative region of China—to the U.S. will have the de minimis exemption removed. Postal items from Hong Kong will also be subject to added tariffs.
Xia Baolong, the head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, did not mince his words when commenting on the situation.
“The U.S. isn’t after our tariffs — it is after our very survival… Anyone who tries to bring us back to poverty and weakness is our enemy,” said Baolong.