NEW DELHI – Postal services in more than half a dozen nations have stopped most shipments to the United States for a short time, which is a big problem for global trade. The Washington Post and media said that the decision was made because of a new U.S. customs rule that goes into effect on August 29 and ends the de minimis exception for overseas packages. Under this rule, products worth less than $800 could enter the U.S. without paying tariffs or filling out a lot of customs paperwork.
An Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump brought about the new policy, which means that almost all commercial goods sent to the U.S. would now have to pay import charges. Letters, papers, and small gifts worth less than $100 will still be free.
The Indian government said that beginning of Monday, August 25, its postal service would stop sending most packages to the U.S. Several European postal companies, such as Deutsche Post (Germany), PostNord (Sweden/Denmark), Poste Italiane (Italy), La Poste (France), and the Royal Mail (UK), have made similar statements. The Royal Mail in the UK said it will suspend sending parcels on Tuesday so that any packages currently on their way would get there before the new levies start.
One big worry for these operations is that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hasn’t made it clear how the new restrictions will be put into place. CBS News says that postal services are apprehensive about how to collect the higher duties and the new data tools they need to use to do so. PostEurop, which represents 51 European postal providers, said that if a solution isn’t found soon, many more countries may have to stop sending packages.
The extra fees for packages will depend on where they came from and how much the U.S. charges for shipping. For instance, countries with a tariff rate of 15% or less could have to pay an extra $80 each package, while those with tariffs of more than 25% could have to pay $200.
President Trump has said that the policy change is meant to stop the flow of illegal drugs. But mail businesses and industry groups say that the move is more about trade policy and that the lack of clear rules is making the global postal system a mess. DHL Express and other private courier services will still be able to do business, but their shipments will also be subject to the new rates.
This change in policy is likely to have a big effect, especially on small enterprises and online retailers in nations that used the de minimis exemption to sell to U.S. customers. In 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showed that 1.36 billion packages worth more than $64 billion came into the U.S. under this law.