The Hongkong Post announced on Wednesday it had suspended goods mail services by sea to the U.S. and also said it would halt its airmail postal service for items containing goods from April 27 due to “bullying” U.S. tariffs.
When sending items to the United States, Hong Kong people “should be prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees due to the U.S.’s unreasonable and bullying acts,” the Hongkong Post said in a statement.
Other postal items containing documents only without goods would not be affected.
“The U.S. is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively. Hongkong Post will definitely not collect any so-called tariffs on behalf of the U.S.,” it said.
Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has been subjected to the same tariffs as China, according to a U.S. government notice.
The former British colony has long been known as a free and open trading hub, but China’s imposition of a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 drew criticism from the U.S. and led it to end the financial hub’s special status under U.S. law.
The Hongkong Post said its suspension was due to the U.S. government’s elimination of the “de minimus” exemption and the increase in tariffs for postal items from Hong Kong containing goods to the U.S. from May 2.
