China tariffs lead to delays and new charges for USPS, UPS, and DHL

In the two days since President Trump enacted new tariffs on goods from China, none of the major US shipping companies and couriers have yet announced detailed policies on new fees, though some have warned of possible delays and disruption. Despite that, both senders and recipients are already reporting being asked to pay import taxes and handling charges.

Trump introduced a ten percent tariff on goods imported from China on Tuesday, but the bigger change is the removal of the ‘de minimis’ exemption, which previously allowed shipments valued below $800 to avoid all import taxes and duties. The change means that previously duty-free shipments now incur the new ten percent tariff, all prior import taxes, and potentially additional fees charged by the shipping company for the inconvenience. With 1.6 billion shipments into the US under de minimis in 2024, though not all from China, that’s a lot of parcels that now require additional inspections, handling, and paperwork.

So far, couriers have avoided publishing official guidance on what senders and recipients should expect. The US Postal Service briefly suspended accepting any packages from China or Hong Kong on Tuesday, retracting the decision less than a day later. The service now only warns of “disruption” to deliveries and that it is working on “an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs.”

UPS similarly warns that shipments to the US from China and Hong Kong “may experience delays.” The company has suspended its Service Guarantee for deliveries from those countries to the US until further notice, meaning it won’t commit to making deliveries within a set time frame. It says “contingency plans” are in place to help keep deliveries on schedule.

FedEx has made no public statement on the risk of delays or likely charges, only telling Bloomberg that shipments are continuing between China and the US.

So far, DHL is the only major courier to discuss fees, admitting to Bloomberg that “there may be additional time and fees involved in sending items.” Those charges appear to have already begun reaching consumers, with multiple people claiming to have received payment requests for import duties and handling fees from DHL. Keyboard company Qwertykeys has even announced a 72-hour suspension of its own shipments out of China, claiming that DHL “now requires prepayment of 50% of the declared product value as a tariff deposit, plus a $21 processing fee per package.” Qwertykeys says it is hoping to negotiate with DHL for “fairer tariff-handling solutions.”

Retailers that use Shein and Temu, two of the e-commerce sites that made heavy use of the de minimis exemption to ship goods directly to US consumers, also report being asked to pay tariff deposits. Bloomberg reports that Chinese retailers have been asked to pay a deposit worth 30 percent of the value of goods bound for the US and warned that actual customs charges may be even higher.

Just because logistics companies haven’t announced charges yet doesn’t mean they won’t apply them, and it’s ultimately consumers that are likely to pay the price. Oxford Economics research last year on two similar bills to reduce China’s access to the de minimis exemption estimated a 40-55 percent increase in end prices for consumers, in addition to substantial new costs for US Customs and Border Protection.