US Postal Service in U-turn on suspending parcels from Hong Kong, mainland China

The United States Postal Service left many in a state of confusion on Wednesday after suddenly announcing the suspension of incoming parcels from Hong Kong and mainland China, only to state later at night that services would resume.

The Hong Kong government expressed “strong disapproval” of the temporary suspension along with US President Donald Trump’s imposition of an extra 10 per cent tariff on the city’s products.

In a surprise U-turn, the postal service said it would continue to accept all global inbound mail and packages from China Post and Hongkong Post. It added that it and US customs were working on a mechanism to collect the extra tariff imposed on mainland and Hong Kong products to minimise disruptions to deliveries.

A Hong Kong government spokesman earlier said the suspension of inbound postal services included items from Hongkong Post.

He said the US had ignored the fact Hong Kong was a separate customs territory recognised by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and stipulated in Article 116 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

“We strongly oppose any attempts to undermine Hong Kong’s reputation and erode our status as a separate customs territory,” he said.