Posted on 02/05/2025 12:34:16 AM PST by RandFan
The US Postal Service (USPS) said it has stopped accepting parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong until further notice.
Letters will not be affected by the suspension, said the company, which declined to offer a reason for the decision, external.
However, on Tuesday new rules came into force which closed a loophole that allowed small packages worth $800 (£641) or less to be sent to the US without paying tax or fees.
It was one of the measures announced by US President Donald Trump who imposed an additional 10% tariff on all goods imported to the US from China.
The so-called de minimis tax loophole has faced increased scrutiny in recent years as Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu have used it to reach millions of US customers.
Changes to the tax exemption under President Joe Biden were already in progress before Trump took office.
But in his trade announcement at the weekend, Trump extended tariffs to all China goods being imported into the US, including fashion items and toys.
In response, China said it would implement tariffs on some US imports.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Wondering how or if this effects Aliexpress orders? Best I can tell my packages are never touched by the USPS. Orders fly into LAX, picked up by some courier service and then go to some collection center for sorting / consolidation. Finally delivered by car by some Chinese folks. I’m sure it will get shut down soon enough.
Halt all incoming mail, shipments until we devise better fentanyl detection.
Can the sniffer dogs detect it?
Also, two Chinese internet exporters use this exemption to ship billions of dollars of Chinese goods to the USA every year, with almost no taxes involved at all.
Do not buy anything with the Chinese chip in it.
China jealously guards its market. In fact, it lies to any manufacturer the Chinese want to steal from, that they will ever have access to it, just to get outsiders to bring manufacturing technology to them.
America doesn’t seem to care about its gigantic consumer market at all - unless the President is named Trump.
“... Letters will not be affected ...” - prolly because mailing one or two ounces of fentanyl in a letter is not practical nor profitable.
Cheaper to send from mainland Chiiina than state to state
However, on Tuesday new rules came into force which closed a loophole that allowed small packages worth $800 (£641) or less to be sent to the US without paying tax or fees.
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The direct route of sending fentanyl from China to the US using small shipments worth less than $800 to avoid all inspections
“fentanyl detection”
The war on opiates has been lost.
Opiates need to be made available to addicts in highly diluted form - two-liter bottles.
A yellow color might indicate a non-lethal to normal person concentration and a deep red color a highly-lethal except to an addict concentration.
To buy from a vendor would involve a hospital test and prescription.
Fentanyl is so potent it can probably be sprayed on a blank sheet of paper and the paper soaked to extract the fentanyl.
The war on opiates is lost.
This will have ramifications well beyond China. One of my company's German suppliers has been using this exemption to ship virtually all of its merchandise into the USA - even when the total ordered is much higher. They just break the shipments up into sub-$800 packages. I suspect this is a common practice around the world.
They’ve already reversed this order.
Really? Wow that was quick
I like your thinking and creative ideas but the GOP will never embrace it
Maybe some innovative state can try it. I know in Europe Portugal have basically decriminalized all drugs.
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