The US Postal Service (USPS) has announced that it has temporarily suspended incoming parcels from the mainland and Hong Kong, in response to which the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) announced yesterday the suspension of mailing parcels to the US, with immediate effect.
However, shortly after the restriction took effect on Tuesday, the US Postal Service announced yesterday that it would, for the time being, continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from mainland China and Hong Kong. In a separate statement, it said that 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 US Postal Service (USPS) said on Tuesday that it had halted acceptance of international packages from mainland China and Hong Kong until further notice, which, however, would not apply to letters and flat mail*. US Customs and Border Protection also announced that day that in line with US President Donald Trump’s executive order on combating synthetic opioids and fentanyl, customs clearance and duty-free entry arrangements for small parcels from mainland China and Hong Kong would also be suspended with effect from February 4, i.e. Tuesday.
The USPS statements did not mention Macau.
According to the CTT measure, the suspension does not cover letters and documents to be sent to the US, as well as packages sent by airmail, including express parcels.
However, according to a CTT statement yesterday, express shipments to Illinois, USA (ZIP code IL60004-IL62903) are also suspended due to the fact that the service has to be transhipped via Hong Kong.
When asked by the Post earlier yesterday, a General Post Office (GPO) counter clerk said that parcels containing liquid, including face and hand creams among other creamy substances, must pass through Hong Kong before they can be sent to the US by ship, because of which these kinds of parcels could not be accepted, but daily necessities, such as trousers and shoes, were still available to members of the public opting to use airfreight instead.
The clerk reminded the public that the airfreight price per kilogram amounts to about 183 patacas, which was twice the cost of sea freight, and that sea freight would usually take three months, unlike airfreight which would normally only take about three weeks.
Regarding that the US Postal Service yesterday halted an order to suspend incoming shipments from mainland China and Hong Kong, the Post last night made enquiries with a CTT official, who said that no updates on service resumption had been received yet.
* “Flat mail” refers to a type of mail that is flat in shape, typically consisting of documents, letters, or other items that do not exceed a certain thickness. Flat mail is distinguished from packages or parcels, which may be thicker or irregularly shaped. – Poe
This photo taken yesterday shows the main entrance to the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) headquarters in Largo do Senado. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
