Washington DC - The USPS said Wednesday it would continue accepting packages from China and Hong Kong, hours after an order to suspend shipments due to President Donald Trump's new tariffs sparked fears of major trade disruptions.

In an apparent climbdown, the USPS on Wednesday morning said it would "continue accepting all international inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong Posts."

"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," it added, without further details.

Tensions between the US and China have soared in recent days as the world's two largest economies slapped a volley of tariffs on each other's imports, hitting hundreds of billions of dollars in trade.

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As part of Trump's trade war, the US on Tuesday also scrapped a duty-free exemption for low-value packages.

The "de minimis" exemption allows goods valued at $800 or below to enter the US without paying duties or certain taxes, but it has faced scrutiny due to a surge in shipments in recent years.

The US Customs and Border Protection agency said last month that exemption shipments were worth over $1.36 billion in 2024, creating challenges for its enforcement of trade laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights, and consumer protection rules.

US officials have pointed to the growth of Chinese-founded online retailers Shein and Temu as a key factor behind the increase – and Tuesday's halt threatened major delays to parcels from both companies from entering the country.

The developments at the USPS came as the latest data showed the US trade deficit swelled last year to its second-largest on record, a metric that Trump has used in the past to justify trade battles with China and others.

Beijing had responded with fury to the move, accusing the US of "politicizing trade and economic issues and using them as tools."

Vowing to "take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian accused Washington of "unreasonable suppression."