Hong Kong e-commerce, US consumers expected to bear brunt of DHL service suspension
Advertisement
But they said they expected the pause would be temporary as US customs worked to clear a backlog of packages after the Trump administration imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
The global courier said on Saturday the suspension would remain in place 'until further notice' and cited US President Donald Trump's decision to end the 'de minimis' tariff exemption for Chinese products worth US$800 or less, starting on May 2.
The tariff on small parcels sent to the US from China would be further raised to 120 per cent from 90 per cent.
Commerce sector lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung told the Post he believed e-commerce businesses would be affected the most by the halt as they mostly shipped directly to customers, while American consumers would need to bear higher prices for imported goods.
Advertisement
'For example, those starting university and looking to shop online for back-to-school items will be affected and have to find alternative platforms,' he said. 'This also impacts Americans in Hong Kong who want to make purchases to send back home.'
Lam said he believed the temporary suspension was because DHL was waiting for a backlog of packages to clear US customs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
2 hours ago
- HKFP
China confirms US bank employee banned from leaving over ‘criminal case'
Beijing confirmed Monday that an employee of US bank Wells Fargo was barred from leaving China, following reports last week that Shanghai-born managing director Chenyue Mao was under an exit ban. After multiple media reports, Wells Fargo confirmed last week that it was providing assistance to the Atlanta-based Mao, who entered China in recent weeks but is now unable to leave. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that Mao was 'involved in a criminal case currently being investigated by the Chinese authorities'. 'The Chinese law enforcement agencies have imposed exit restrictions in accordance with the law,' Guo said. He did not give details of Mao's alleged offences, and Wells Fargo has not provided more information on her case. But the San Francisco-based bank is now restricting its employees from visiting China following this case, according to reports. It said in a statement to AFP on Friday that it was 'closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible'. Guo said Mao 'cannot leave the country while the case is ongoing, and has an obligation to cooperate with the work of investigators'. He stressed that it was an 'individual case' and that China would 'continue as ever to welcome people from every country to travel and do business here'. 'No matter whether you are Chinese or not, you must follow Chinese laws while in China,' he said. Tensions and detentions Industry groups say multinational firms have faced an increasingly difficult business environment in recent years, citing a lack of transparency on data laws and prolonged detentions of employees in the country. The trend has coincided with growing tensions between Beijing and certain Western nations, particularly the United States but also regional competitors. The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing four unnamed sources, that an employee at the US Commerce Department was being prevented from leaving China after failing to declare on his visa application that he worked for the American government. The unnamed Chinese American man, who works for the Patent and Trademark Office, had travelled to China several months ago to visit family, the newspaper reported. Asked about the report on Monday, Guo said he was not familiar with the case. On Wednesday, a Chinese court sentenced a Japanese businessman from pharmaceutical company Astellas to three and a half years in prison for spying. Another pharma giant, UK-headquartered AstraZeneca, said in November that the head of its China operations, Leon Wang, had been detained, after reports that the firm was under investigation for potentially illegal data collection and drug imports. And in 2023, a senior executive at US risk advisory firm Kroll was prohibited from leaving China, according to the Wall Street Journal.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
What does Trump's transshipment crackdown mean for Asian industrial property?
US President Donald Trump's administration has Asia's economies in its sights . The region has become more trade-dependent since the 2018-19 US-China trade war. Asia ex-China's trade surplus with the US doubled from September 2019 to US$400 billion at the end of last year. However, it is not just the widening trade imbalance that has incurred the Trump administration's wrath. The surge in Asian, particularly Southeast Asian, exports to the US was accompanied by a sharp increase in Chinese imports in many countries in the region. In Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, the share of imports from China has risen to 28-39 per cent, up from 20-30 per cent in 2015, according to Nomura data. The correlation between Asia's exports to the US and its imports from China underpins a key plank of Trump's new trade strategy: cracking down on 'transshipments' in an attempt to stop China using other Asian markets as a back door for repackaged exports to the US, avoiding the higher tariffs placed on goods exported directly from China. Trump's efforts to reduce China's role in Asian supply chains pose a bigger challenge to the region's economies than the ones they faced during the 2018 trade conflict, some of which turned into opportunities as several economies capitalised on the effects of trade diversion In the property industry, the manufacturing-driven industrial and logistics sector is the most vulnerable to the disruption and reshaping of world trade. Asia's industrial real estate , which includes properties used for manufacturing, distribution and storage of goods, is ground zero for the impact of tariffs on commercial property.
HKFP
5 hours ago
- HKFP
10 Years of HKFP: Why we revived our deer mascot
Hong Kong Free Press has revived its decade-old deer mascot, based on a Chinese proverb. To 'call a deer a horse ' (指鹿為馬) refers to the distortion of facts and the misrepresentation of truth. When HKFP launched in 2015, we adopted the deer as our mascot, promising to always 'call a deer a deer.' The HKFP mascot. We'll always call a deer a deer. Support us: — Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) October 29, 2015 To mark our 10th anniversary, a new version of our deer is returning to remind us all of the importance of truth and press freedom at a time when misinformation, disinformation and propaganda are rife. If you would like to receive an exclusive HKFP plush deer keyring, designed from scratch by HKFP, sign up as a HK$150+ monthly donor as a member today and enjoy eight benefits.
