Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
Replace (8:49 AM ET February 5, 2025): Official documentation from the US Customs and Border Patrol states that each one shipments from China will now be topic to formal processing charges, no matter their worth. These charges complete $32.71. The USPS has resumed accepting packages from China and Hong Kong, however will start amassing charges and tariffs.
Unique article (8:15 AM ET February 5, 2025): The gaming handheld market has exploded lately, however now every little thing has come crashing to a halt with a brief submit on the USPS web site: “Efficient Feb. 4, the Postal Service will quickly droop solely worldwide bundle acceptance of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong Posts till additional discover.”
Whereas the textual content says it solely impacts China Publish and Hong Kong Publish, the fact has been completely different. As reported by Wired, transportation firms are already having vans turned away on the border in the event that they include packages from China.
Practically each gaming handheld in the marketplace is made in China and sometimes ships from there. That is the case for smaller firms promoting on AliExpress and fan favorites like Retroid, which sells by itself web site.
Handhelds could possibly be topic to 30% taxes, plus $3-22 in flat customs charges.
It’s price declaring that almost all of those shipments don’t undergo USPS, however the announcement will possible have a chilling impact on the remainder of the trade. In any case, every little thing has to move by US Customs, which has already stepped up inspection and enforcement.
That is occurring due to a latest government order by President Trump, which not solely provides a ten% tariff to items from China but additionally eliminates the de minimis customs exception on items underneath $800. Beforehand, this meant packages may come into the US with out customs inspections or charges, resulting in the flourishing of platforms like AliExpress and Temu. An estimated 1.36 billion packages entered the US this fashion in 2024.
The Biden administration additionally proposed the thought of eradicating the de minimis exemption however by no means finalized any plans. It’s not but clear what the outcomes of this variation will probably be, however patrons could possibly be not simply taxes and tariff prices, but additionally costly customs charges.
In accordance with Taki Udon, a preferred handheld reviewer and creator, flat customs charges can vary wherever from $3-22, plus 35% of the declared worth in taxes. For a budget handhelds which have flooded the market lately, that could possibly be recreation over.
