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A14 BUSINESS
Thursday 6 February 2025
U.S. Postal Service flip-flops on Hong Kong-China packages, lifting

a ban imposed a day earlier

By ZEN SOO cepting inbound parcels
AP Business Writer from the China and Hong
HONG KONG (AP) — The Kong Posts until further no-
U.S. Postal Service is revers- tice, it said Wednesday
ing course a day after plac- that would “continue ac-
ing a ban on all inbound cepting all international
packages from China and inbound mail and pack-
Hong Kong. ages from China and Hong
The post office had an- Kong.”
nounced Tuesday that it Letters and flats mail that
would no longer accept measures up to 15 inches
parcels from the China (38 centimeters) long or
and Hong Kong after the 3/4 inches (1.9 centimeters)
U.S. imposed an additional thick were not included in
10% tariff on Chinese goods the brief ban.
and ended a customs ex- Why did it happen?
ception that allowed small The USPS did not give a rea-
value parcels to enter the son for the ban Tuesday,
U.S. without paying tax. but the suspension came
The Postal Service reversed after Trump closed the “de
course Wednesday but minimis” customs exemp-
gave no reason. It said it tion this week for China
would work with Customs that allowed shoppers and
and Border Protection to importers to avoid duties
implement a collection A U.S. Postal Service employee loads parcels outside a post office in Wheeling, Ill., on Jan. 29, on packages worth below
process for the new China 2024. $800.
tariffs to avoid delivery dis- Associated Press The exemption was re-
ruptions. to create massive disrup- vice helps these compa- and potentially higher pric- moved as part of an ex-
The post office pointed tions for online shopping nies keep costs low, as did es for the companies that ecutive order to levy a 10%
to the short prepared platforms like Shein and the “de minimis” exemp- rely on rock-bottom pricing tariff on Chinese goods.
statement on the rever- Temu, popular with young- tion that previously allowed for huge sales. U.S. Customs and Bor-
sal when asked for more er shoppers in the U.S. for shipments to go tax-free if What exactly did the USPS der Protection previously
details about the reversal cheap clothing and other their value is under $800. announce? stated that it processes an
Wednesday by The Associ- products, usually shipped The suspension by USPS One day after the U.S. average of over 4 million
ated Press. directly from China. would have likely have cre- Postal Service said in a no- “de minimis” imports each
The ban had the potential Cheap, direct postal ser- ated delays in shipments tice that it would stop ac- week.q

Apple lashes out at iPhone porn app maker and the EU rules

allowing its download

By KELVIN CHAN available in the European dermines consumer confi- sumer trust and confi- said in a statement.
AP Business Writer Union, warning that the dence in the tech giant. dence” in its mobile eco- “The truth is that we are
LONDON (AP) — Apple bloc’s digital rules open- AltStore PAL, an alternative system. required by the European
has chided a newly intro- ing the way for third-party app marketplace made “Contrary to the false Commission to allow it to
duced pornography app app store downloads un- possible under Europe’s statements made by the be distributed by market-
Digital Markets Act or DMA, marketplace developer, place operators like Alt-
this week unveiled the Hot we certainly do not ap- Store and Epic who may
Tub iPhone app, described prove of this app and not share our concerns for
as an adult content brows- would never offer it in our user safety.”q
er. App Store,” the company
The digital rulebook forces
Big Tech companies to
open their services up to
more competition, includ-
ing allowing phone users
to download from alterna-
tive app stores instead of
being limited to the official
app stores from Apple and
Google, for example.
AltStore PAL said in a social
media post on Monday
that Hot Tub is “the world’s
1st Apple-approved porn
app.”
Apple rejected that de-
scription, saying the avail- This is a display of iPhone 16s in an Apple Store in Pittsburgh on
ability of such an app Jan. 12, 2025. Associated Press
would “undermine con-