The UPU said information exchanged between postal operators through its electronic network showed traffic from its 192 member countries nearly all the world countries had fallen 81% on Aug. 29, compared to a week earlier. The Bern, Switzerland-based agency said the major operational disruptions have occurred because airlines and other carriers indicated they weren't willing or able to collect such duties, and foreign postal operators had not established a link to CBP-qualified companies.
Japan Post Co. will suspend shipping of some small packages to the United States due to fresh tariffs imposed by the US government, in a sign of how President Donald Trump's levies may impact smaller businesses and individuals. The mail service will stop accepting parcels that include consumer goods for sale or gifts worth over $100 from Wednesday, after the U.S. revoked its tariff exemption on lower-value packages from across the world, according to a statement published on its website.
France's La Poste on Monday joined other operators, including Germany's Deutsche Post, Spain's Correos, Poste Italiane and the Belgian, Swedish and Danish postal services, which all halted a majority of US-bound shipments over the weekend. Austria's Osterreichische Post and the UK's Royal Mail said they would stop accepting packages on Tuesday, to allow enough time for packages posted before then to arrive in the US before the tariffs, scheduled to come into force at the end of August, kick in.
Catch up quick: In late July, President Trump formally revoked the de minimis exemption, which excluded packages worth $800 or less from tariffs. He'd previously lifted the exemption for packages from China; as of August 29, it goes away for all other countries, too. Zoom out: Many European carriers, citing uncertainty about the new rules and a lack of time to create enforcement mechanisms, have opted to pause sending packages to the U.S. altogether.
Norwegian and Swedish-Danish postal groups Posten Bring and PostNord are pausing parcel shipments to the United States ahead of the scrapping of a US customs tax loophole that allows duty-free entry for low-value packages, they said on Wednesday. President Donald Trump's administration said last month it would suspend the global de minimis exemption, which also allows minimal paperwork, for international shipments under $800 from 29 August.
The order states that the de minimis exemption will no longer apply 'regardless of value, country of origin, mode of transportation or method of entry' meaning all shipments will be subject to 'all applicable duties, taxes, fees, exactions and charges'.
