On Tuesday, Australia Post, the country’s official postal service, said it had temporarily stopped sending mail to the United States. The decision, which takes effect right away, is a direct result of higher U.S. duties on postal items.
The “De Minimis” Exemption Is Over
The U.S. government recently issued an executive order that will end the global “de minimis” rule on August 29, 2025. This is why the suspension is in place. Before, this law let items worth less than $800 come into the U.S. without paying duties and with little paperwork. Now, every package that comes into the U.S. will have to pay customs fees, save for letters, documents that aren’t worth anything, and gifts that are worth less than $100.
Australia Post said in a press release that it is putting the suspension in place to give itself time to “develop and implement a workable solution” for its customers. The postal service is keeping an eye on things and talking to both the U.S. and Australian governments.
The New Rules Will Have an Effect on the Whole World
Australia Post’s choice is in line with what many other postal systems throughout the world have done, such as India Post, Japan Post, and the national postal services of Germany (Deutsche Post), Switzerland, and South Korea. These carriers have also stopped sending packages to the U.S. because they don’t understand the new laws well enough and aren’t ready to follow them.
Many national postal systems have stopped working, but some commercial carriers, like FedEx, have said they will keep accepting and shipping packages to the U.S. They have said that they will pay the duties for the consumers to speed up the procedure, but this could mean extra costs. The FedEx website also said that the “de minimis” exemption will no longer apply to its services. This means that any commercial imports for $800 or less will now have to pay duties and taxes.