The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reversed course February 5, saying it would continue to accept all inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong, reports ABC News. One day earlier, the USPS said said it had stopped accepting parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong until further notice.

Now, it says "The USPS and Customs and Border Protection are  working closely together to implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery."

The bizarre back-and-forth comes after the Trump administration on February 3 closed the so-called de minimis rule that allowed small packages worth $800 or less to be sent to the U.S. without paying tariffs. Close to half of all parcels entering the U.S. under de minimis exemptions were sent from China, according to a 2023 report by U.S. Congress. Now, all such parcels will attract duties.

The USPS amended its announcement on the morning of February 5, but offered no reason for either decision.

The de minimis rule has been considered a loophole that Chinese e-commerce retailers such as Temu and fashion-focused Shein have exploited for years, giving them an advantage over market incumbents such as Amazon.com Inc. 

According to the Congressional Research Service, the PRC reported $18.4 billion de minimis exports to the United States in 2023. Forbes reports that the U.S. imported $426.9 billion worth of Chinese goods in 2023, making de minimis imports at least 4% of all imports from China to the U.S, and likely to be a great deal more since the rise of cut-price e-commerce retailers, which favor shipping small packages direct to consumers, since then. 

Critics say the flood of parcels from China is hard to monitor, and may contain illegal or dangerous goods. 

On February 5, the EU — which has been exploring similar measures to the U.S. — announced that Temu and Shein would be liable for the sale of unsafe and dangerous products on their platforms.

In the EU, retailers benefit from a benefit similar to the U.S. de minimis rule, paying no tax on parcels worth less than €150 ($156).