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After India’s Department of Posts, on August 23, announced that it will temporarily suspend all types of postal articles to the United States amid President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on India, European postal services are now also pausing deliveries to the US as tariff exemptions on their deliveries come to an end, AP reported.
Multiple international postal services who have been impacted by the end of an exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages into the US, have halted shipping as they await more clarity on the rule, the report added.
Which exemption has been stopped by the US?
The now scrapped exemption, known as the “de minimis” exemption, allowed packages worth less than $800 to come into the US duty free. It is set to expire on August 29.
On August 23, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending shipment of many packages to the US amid confusion over new import duties.
A total of 1.36 billion packages, for goods worth $64.6 billion, were sent into the US in 2024 under this exemption, data from the US Customs and Border Patrol Agency showed.
Which countries are halting shipments and when?
Among the countries that are halting services (mostly merchandise) immediately include Denmark, Germany and Sweden; while Austria and France will follow on August 25.
Further, the United Kingdom’s Royal Mail said it would halt shipments to the US on August 25. The delay comes as it wants to allow time for packages that arrive before the new duties kick in.
According to the Royal Post, items originating in the UK worth over $100 — including gifts to friends and family, will incur a 10 per cent duty.
Postnord, the Nordic logistics company, and Italy’s postal service announced similar suspensions effective August 30.
PostEurop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, said that if no solution can be found by August 29 all its members will likely follow suit.
Why have packaages been halted?
DHL, the largest shipping provider in Europe, in a statemen said, “Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out.”
The company said starting August 23, it “will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from business customers destined for the US.”
The AP report noted that many European postal services say they are pausing deliveries now because they cannot guarantee the goods will enter the US before August 29. They cite ambiguity about what kind of goods are covered by the new rules, and the lack of time to process their implications.
What European postal services say…
A trade framework agreed on by the US and the European Union last month set a 15 per cent tariff on the vast majority of products shipped from the EU. Packages under $800 will now also be subject to the tariff.
The US duty-free exemption for goods originating from China ended in May as part of the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to curb American shoppers from ordering low-value Chinese goods. The exemption is being extended to shipments from around the world.
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