It had announced on Tuesday evening that it would suspend handling these parcels, in a move that stood to hurt Chinese e-commerce retailers.

USPS said about 12 hours later that 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.

When it announced the suspension, which didn't apply to letters or flat mail, it didn't specify the reason.

He also ended the de minimis exemption, which allowed packages worth less than $800 bound for individual consumers to avoid tariffs.

One economist said Tuesday that China and Hong Kong accounted for 67% of packages entering the US under the de minimis exemption between 2018 and 2021.

Chinese e-commerce retailers like Shein and Temu stood to lose from the USPS's suspension of handling parcels from China.

Temu's parent company, PDD Holdings, was down in premarket trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday morning before the USPS announced it would resume handling parcels. The stock began to recover after the reversal.

In 2023, the GOP-led House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party estimated that Temu and Shein were "likely responsible" for more than 30% of de minimis shipments to the US.