On Wednesday, Hong Kong Post announced the suspension of sea mail services for goods to the United States and stated that air mail services for items containing goods will also be halted starting 27 April, citing “bullying” tariffs imposed by the US.
Residents in Hong Kong sending items to the US “should expect to incur exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the US’s aggressive and unfair practices,” Hong Kong Post mentioned in a statement.
“The US’s actions are unreasonable, aggressive, and involve the abusive imposition of tariffs,” it added. “Hong Kong Post will categorically refuse to act as a collector for any so-called tariffs on behalf of the US.”
However, other postal items containing only documents, without goods, will remain unaffected.
As a special administrative region of China, Hong Kong is subject to the same tariffs as the mainland, as indicated by a US government notice.
According to Hong Kong Post, the decision to suspend services was prompted by the US government’s removal of the “de minimus” exemption and the increase in tariffs on goods-containing postal items originating from Hong Kong, which will take effect on 2 May.
Hong Kong has historically been recognized as a free trading hub; however, the introduction of a comprehensive national security law in 2020 by China drew criticism from the US, resulting in the revocation of the financial center’s special status under US law.
