ISTANBUL

Hong Kong’s postal service on Wednesday said it will stop handling packages coming from or going to the US, as tensions over President Donald Trump's "retaliatory" tariffs escalate between Washington and Beijing.

The government of China's special administrative region said Hongkong Post will reject US-bound surface mail items with immediate effect, while items to be sent by air will not be accepted from April 27.

It added that Washington would eliminate "duty-free de minimis treatment" for postal items dispatched from Hong Kong to the US and increase the tariffs for postal items containing goods to the US starting from May 2.

"The US is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively. Hongkong Post will definitely not collect any so-called tariffs on behalf of the US and will suspend the acceptance of postal items containing goods destined to the US," it said in a statement.

For items sent via surface mail that have not yet been shipped, HongKong Post will reach out to the senders to organize returns and issue refunds.

Meanwhile, the government warned that for sending items to the US, the public should be "prepared to pay exorbitant and unreasonable fees." Postal items containing documents only, however, will not be affected.

Last week, Trump announced tariffs on small parcels sent from mainland China and Hong Kong to the US would be increased from 90% to 120%.

US tariffs on products from China, including those from Hong Kong, have now reached up to 245%, while China's retaliatory duties on American imports currently sit at 125%.