A day after normal deliveries resumed between Hong Kong, mainland China and the US, some postal services from Macao appear to remain suspended.
The website of the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau has not given new information since yesterday, when it advised a suspension of surface mail small parcel deliveries to the US. Airmail deliveries are continuing as usual, as are express mail services to places in the US except the state of Illinois.
The day-long suspension of parcel deliveries from China to the US on Tuesday has sown confusion and concern among online retailers such as Amazon, Shein and Temu, who are heavy users of such services.
[See more: Donald Trump’s inauguration sparks major uncertainty for Sino-US relations]
According to Reuters, Washington may have made the move in a bid to stem the flow to the US of chemicals used to make the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The US contends that China is a major supplier of such chemicals – an accusation that Beijing strongly denies.
Shippers have warned of chaos, with the brief pause affecting millions of packages.
“We’re all running around like headless chickens at this moment in time, trying to second-guess what’s going to happen,” one e-commerce data provider told Reuters. “And in two weeks’ time we may be back to normal.”
