Over 20 countries suspend postal services to US amid tariff row
LONDON, 3 days ago
Postal services in more than 20 countries including - Australia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan and UK - have announced the temporary suspension of most parcel shipments to the US, citing uncertainty over the effects of a Trump administration policy change.
The move come after US President Donald Trump removed an exemption on packages worth under $800.
The suspension of postal services to the US is mainly to take time to adjust to the new rules and account for increased expenses.
Carriers have been temporarily suspending services since Friday to avoid delivering packages after 29 August, when they will start to be charged full tariff rates for most parcels, reported The Guardian.
The cost of mailing packages to the US is set to surge after the Trump administration removed a rule exempting packages worth under $800 from tariffs.
From Friday, packages will be subject to fees relating to the tariff rates applying to their country of origin, making postage much more expensive. Postal services will have to cover the increased cost or pass it on to customers.
Trump’s tariff moves had not previously impacted the mailing of packages valued at less than $800, which were exempted under “de minimis” rules, a Latin term referring to items too minor to worry about. Trump in July announced he would remove de minimis treatment, stated the report.
Service suspensions differ by country. Many postal services will continue to mail letters to the US but have suspended postage of any package of goods worth under $800.
Letters and personal gifts under $100 will still technically be exempt from tariffs after Friday but some services have suspended all US postage of goods and others have suspended postage to the US entirely.
DHL, one of the largest package shipping and delivery companies in Europe, is one of multiple services suspending shipments to the US, reported USA Today.
DHL Parcel Germany and its domestic arm, Deutsche Post, paused the "acceptance and transport of business customer parcels via the postal network to the U.S." as of Saturday, Aug. 23, due to tariff policies going into place on Friday, Aug. 29.
The UN’s Universal Postal Union said it had already been advised by “postal operators of 25 member countries… that they have suspended their outbound postal services to the US, citing uncertainties specifically related to transit services".
“These suspensions will remain in place pending further information on how US authorities will operationalise (their announced) measures as well as actual implementation of the required operational changes," it said in a statement.
Packages that had already been shipped to the US and arrive before Friday will not attract tariffs. Those that arrive after Friday may be returned to sender to avoid incurring fees, Belgium’s bpost said, while New Zealand’s service said it would hold the receiver responsible for all duties and taxes.
Royal Mail said it was withdrawing its current US export services for businesses from Tuesday, but added it hoped to have a new system up and running within two days to allow it to comply with the new rules before they kick in, reported BBC.
"We have been working hard with US authorities and international partners to adapt our services to meet the new US de minimis requirements so UK consumers and businesses can continue to use our services when they come into effect," the company said.
Services in 22 European countries – including the UK, France, Germany and Italy – have suspended some deliveries since Friday. PostEurop said its members, including a further 32 postal services, could be forced to restrict shipping.
In Asia and the Pacific, services in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore have suspended some or all deliveries.
Online marketplace Etsy has suspended US shipping label services for Australia Post, Canada Post and the UK’s Royal Mail and Evri, encouraging users to find alternative carriers who let them pre-pay tariff fees.
Postal services have told customers US deliveries will be suspended indefinitely until they have developed alternative systems.
Belgium’s bpost said the interruption would last until the US government had provided complete detail on the new import rules and it could adapt its systems to match.
Australia Post warned customers postage fees would increase to account for the tariff fees and new handling fees, after it partnered with a US customs-authorised payments operator to develop its new billing system.
