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
RTHK
34 minutes ago
- RTHK
HK stocks open down despite Wall Street surge
HK stocks open down despite Wall Street surge The Hang Seng Index lost 169 points, or 0.7 percent, to open at 23,900. File photo: RTHK Asian stocks were mixed in early trades despite Wall Street indices finishing at fresh records overnight following solid American jobs data as US President Donald Trump's sweeping budget bill successfully reached the congressional finish line. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 169 points, or 0.7 percent, to open at 23,900. Across the border, mainland Chinese stocks opened lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.05 percent to open at 3,459 while the Shenzhen Component Index opened flat at 10,534. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was up 0.2 percent to open at 2,168. Further afield, Australian shares moved closer to a record high, boosted by technology and financial stocks ahead of an expected interest rate cut by the local central bank next week, though losses in commodity stocks capped gains. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2 percent to 8,611 points by midday local time, just 27 points shy of the record high hit on June 11. The benchmark has gained more than one percent so far this week and is headed for its best week since mid-May. (Xinhua/Reuters/AFP)
AllAfrica
an hour ago
- AllAfrica
The pros and cons for Putin of a big push at Ukraine's Sumy front
Donald Trump, when asked about reports that Russia is gearing up for a large-scale offensive in Ukraine's Sumy Region, told the media earlier in the week: 'We'll see what happens. I'm watching it very closely.' This follows the Wall Street Journal's report alleging that Russia has assembled 50,000 troops in preparation for that. A Russian security source denied such plans in comments to TASS, however, and instead described the aforesaid claims as part of a GUR disinfo campaign to fearmonger about Russia. TASS's source, while also claiming that Ukraine also does indeed have quite a few border fortifications there unlike what the WSJ wrote, also put forth the hypothesis that GUR wants to discredit the Defense Ministry in general and Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky in particular. Whatever the truth may be, what's known for sure is that the Sumy region falls within the 'buffer zone' that Putin spoke about carving out in late May, the strategy of which was analyzed here at the time. The larger context concerns the realization that 'The Russian-Ukrainian Talks Are At An Impasse That Only The US Or Brute Force Can Break.' Absent any serious efforts by Trump to coerce Zelensky into the concessions that Putin demands for peace, Russia might thus continue resorting to brute force to ensure its security interests, especially given the window of opportunity that reportedly just opened up. This is connected to Politico's recent report about the Pentagon halting some promised munitions to Ukraine. According to Politico's sources, this includes 'missiles for Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire and other missiles that Ukraine launches from its F-16 fighters and drones.' The decision was reportedly made in early June, so shortly before Israel launched its sneak attack against Iran on day 61 of Trump's 60-day deadline for agreeing to a new nuclear deal. The timing consequently suggests that this aid that was promised to Ukraine during the Biden era might have instead been redirected to Israel. This makes sense seeing as how Trump knew about Bibi's plans ahead of time and likely would have ordered the Pentagon to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale conflict erupting in the aftermath. The US stockpiles were already running low even before the 12-day war that followed, in which the US directly participated by bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities – so it was inevitable in hindsight that the United States' prioritization of Israel's security needs would come at Ukraine's expense. All of this sets the stage for that large-scale offensive that Ukraine claims Russia is gearing up for while Russia denies it and the US is closely monitoring just in case. On the one hand, Russia could try to take advantage of the reduction in US military aid to Ukraine to push its buffer zone deeper into Sumy Region. On the other hand, it might not be the walk in the park that the WSJ claimed, and Trump could overreact to any major Russian gains by 'escalating to de-escalate' at the risk of ruining the fragile peace process. From Trump's viewpoint, the optics of Russia gaining lots of ground right at the moment when the US curtailed crucial military aid to Ukraine could lend false credence to conspiracy theories about collusion between him and Putin, while his legacy would be tarnished if the US then 'lost Ukraine' as a result. These perceptions raise the chance that he'd overreact to that scenario. Therefore, Putin, to avoid jeopardizing talks with Trump, might disapprove of carrying through with such military plans if he even had those plans to begin with.
RTHK
3 hours ago
- RTHK
Trump to send letters laying out tariff rates
Trump to send letters laying out tariff rates Donald Trump says letters will be sent out starting on Friday to ten trading partners at a time to inform them of their tariff rates. File photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals. Acknowledging the complexity of negotiating with over 170 nations, Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa on Thursday that the letters will be sent to 10 countries at a time, laying out tariff rates such as 20 percent to 30 percent. "We have more than 170 countries, and how many deals can you make?" Trump said. "They're very much more complicated." The Republican president said he expected "a couple" more detailed agreements with other countries after Wednesday's announcement of a trade deal with Vietnam. However, he said he preferred to notify most other countries of a specific tariff rate, skipping detailed negotiations. Trump's comments underscored the challenges of completing trade agreements on everything from tariffs to non-tariff barriers such as bans on agricultural imports. Top Trump aides said in April they would work on 90 deals in 90 days, an ambitious goal that was met with skepticism from trade experts familiar with arduous and time-consuming trade deals of the past. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television that about 100 countries are likely to see a reciprocal tariff rate of 10 percent and predicted a "flurry" of trade deals announced before a July 9 deadline when tariffs could rise sharply. But so far, the Trump administration has only unveiled deals with the UK and Vietnam, while Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other's products. The Trump administration's original reciprocal tariff list showed 123 jurisdictions that would be given a 10 percent tariff rate – mostly small countries, along with some territories such as Australia's uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands. Trump sent markets into a tailspin on April 2 with sweeping reciprocal tariff rates of up to 50 percent, although he temporarily reduced the tariff rate for most countries to 10 percent to allow time for negotiations through July 9. Many countries with an initial 10 percent duty rate have not had any negotiations with the Trump administration, with the exception of Britain, which reached a deal in May to keep a 10 percent rate and won preferential treatment for some sectors including autos and aircraft engines. Major trading partners now involved in negotiations were hit with much higher tariff rates, including 20 percent for the European Union, 26 percent for India and 24 percent for Japan. Other countries that have not engaged in trade talks with the Trump administration face even higher reciprocal tariffs, including 50 percent for the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho, 47 percent for Madagascar and 36 percent for Thailand. Trump on Wednesday announced an agreement with Vietnam that he said cuts US tariffs on many Vietnamese goods to 20 percent from his previously threatened 46 percent. Many US products would be allowed to enter Vietnam duty free. (Agencies)
