Yes. If you are wondering is USPS accepting packages from China, it is, and nothing in the current federal rules stops them from being delivered. What changed is the cost, because postal shipments worth $800 or less no longer enter the country duty free.
That change affects every country, not only China. It shapes who pays, when they pay and how long a parcel may sit before delivery. If you want to see what a parcel might cost, an international duty estimator gives a starting figure.
Is USPS accepting packages from China in 2026?
USPS continues to deliver inbound international mail, and that includes parcels sent from Chinese sellers through the postal network. The federal rules in force restrict how the goods are charged, not whether the mail can arrive. China does not appear among the destinations USPS has suspended.
Some shoppers remember headlines about a pause on China mail in early 2025. It did not become a lasting policy, and every federal action since then has been about duty, not delivery. For the carrier’s own list of countries with limits, see does USPS ship internationally.
Did USPS suspend packages from China?
The suspension that is documented officially is about duty, not about delivery. A Federal Register rule published on June 24, 2026 is titled “Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process.” It ends the duty free exemption for merchandise valued at $800 or less that arrives through international postal networks.
The rule applies to all countries, not China alone, although China was first. An executive order of April 2, 2025 ended duty free de minimis treatment for goods from China and Hong Kong. Executive Order 14324, signed July 30, 2025, extended the suspension to every country from the start of August 29, 2025.
During that first phase, carriers delivering through the postal network, or other parties approved by CBP, had to collect and remit the duty. They could charge the full tariff rate on the value or, for six months from August 29, 2025, a flat $80, $160 or $200 per item depending on the country’s tariff rate. The details are in the implementation notice for that order.
The 2026 rule makes the postal side of the suspension indefinite and replaces that stopgap with the entry process below.
You can read the rule on the Federal Register page for the postal rule.
Is USPS stopping packages from China? What changed and when
Parcels are not being stopped, but the rules for entering them changed in steps. The table lists the dates the federal documents themselves give. Anyone asking is usps accepting packages from china should read it as a timeline of duty changes, not delivery bans.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| April 2, 2025 | Executive order ended duty free de minimis treatment for goods from China and Hong Kong |
| August 29, 2025 | Executive Order 14324 suspended duty free de minimis treatment for all countries; postal carriers or approved parties collected the duty |
| June 24, 2026 | CBP published the postal interim final rule, and one provision (19 CFR 145.31) took effect |
| July 24, 2026 | The suspension of the $800 exemption for mail shipments took effect, and the comment period closed |
| October 22, 2026 | Compliance date for certain requirements from other government agencies |
The October 22 date is the next one to watch. It applies to specific agency requirements for certain goods, not to every parcel.
Will my package from China owe duty?
Most likely yes, if the goods are worth more than the small exemptions that remain. The rule does not touch bona fide gifts valued at $100 or less. It also leaves in place the exemption for personal or household articles worth $200 or less that travel with a person.
A typical online order does not qualify for either one. A $30 phone case bought from a Chinese seller is still a commercial sale, so it falls under the new process. How much duty applies depends on the product’s tariff classification and its country of origin.
- Clothing, electronics and toys each have their own tariff rate.
- The country of origin matters more than the country the parcel ships from.
- Goods under quotas or special duties follow a different, formal path.
Who collects the duty on postal packages?
Under the new postal informal entry process, the filer handles it. The filer is the owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed customs broker acting for them. The filer sends entry data to CBP by spreadsheet by the 7th of the month after the parcel arrives, and pays through Pay.gov.
The rule says customs officers no longer collect duty at the door. The process needs a 10 digit tariff code, the country of origin and a basic importation and entry bond. It covers shipments of $2,500 or less in tariff chapters 1 to 97.
For an ordinary shopper, the practical answer depends on the seller and the postal operator. Many sellers collect duty at checkout. If yours does not, ask who is acting as the filer before you buy.
What USPS charges for dutiable inbound mail
USPS publishes a separate fee for handling duty. Its price list shows a customs clearance and delivery fee of $9.35 per dutiable item for qualifying inbound mail. That is the Postal Service’s handling charge, and it is separate from the duty itself.
For items sent with Delivered Duty Paid service, the Postal Service charges no direct fee to the customer. If a sender chose that service, duties, taxes and fees are collected from the sender and passed to a third party. Whether a particular parcel falls under either fee depends on how the seller shipped it.
| Item | Amount | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Customs clearance and delivery | $9.35 per dutiable item | Qualifying inbound mail |
| USPS Delivered Duty Paid | $0.00 per piece direct fee | Senders who pay duty in advance |
Will my order from China be delayed?
Some parcels will take longer, but the rules do not set a delay. Entry data now travels with the parcel and the filer submits it, so a missing tariff code or a bad value can hold an item. Clearance times vary by volume and by how complete the paperwork is.
For typical timing, read how long customs takes.
If your tracking shows a customs scan and then stops, the guide to inbound into customs explains what that status means.
What to do when a China order stalls
- Check the tracking number on the seller’s page and on the USPS site. Our guide on how to track a USPS package lists every method.
- Look for a customs or clearance scan. A parcel with that scan is usually waiting on entry data, not lost.
- Ask the seller whether duty was prepaid and who the filer is. A prepaid parcel should not ask you for payment later.
- If tracking has not moved for several days, read USPS tracking not updating before you file a claim.
Keep the order confirmation and the seller’s invoice. They show the declared value, which is what duty is based on.
A worked example for a typical order
Say you buy a $60 jacket from a seller in China, and the seller ships it by postal service. The parcel is a commercial sale worth less than $800, so the old duty free exemption no longer covers it. Entry data must be filed, and duty is due based on the jacket’s tariff code and origin.
If the seller prepaid duty, you pay nothing more on arrival. If the seller did not, someone must act as filer, and that person pays through Pay.gov by the 7th of the following month. A buyer who does not want that task can ask the seller to ship with duty included.
Now take a $90 gift that a relative in China mails to you. A gift worth $100 or less keeps its own exemption if the form says so. For help with the form, see how to fill out a USPS customs form.
Which goods cannot use the postal process
The postal informal entry process has limits. It covers shipments of $2,500 or less in tariff chapters 1 to 97. Goods that are subject to quotas, antidumping or countervailing duties, or that claim a trade agreement benefit, need a formal entry instead.
That matters because many low cost consumer goods fall into regulated categories. If a seller will not say how the parcel is entered, expect delays. A formal entry usually means a licensed customs broker gets involved, which adds cost.
How to estimate what you might owe
- Find the product’s declared value on the seller’s invoice.
- Confirm the country of origin, since it can differ from the shipping country.
- Look up the tariff code for the product, or ask the seller for it.
- Run the numbers through a duty estimator to get a rough figure before you buy.
Treat the result as an estimate. The final duty depends on the filed entry and the rates in force on the day the parcel arrives.
Bottom line
Is USPS accepting packages from China? Yes, and the real change is that low value postal parcels from any country now owe duty through the postal informal entry process. Check how your seller handles duty before you order.
