The Universal Postal Union announced on Saturday (September 6) that the flow of packages shipped to the United States had plummeted by over 80% after the Trump administration revoked the de minimis import tariff exemption policy for small parcels.
88 postal operators have informed the Universal Postal Union that they have temporarily suspended some or all postal services for small packages bound for the United States until a viable solution is found for parcels valued at $800 or less.
In a statement, the Universal Postal Union stated, “Since the implementation of the new regulations on August 29, the global network’s mail flow to the United States has almost come to a standstill. The new regulations for the first time shifted the burden of tariff collection and remittance to transport carriers or qualified institutions approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).”
The organization disclosed that data exchanged through its electronic network among postal operators showed an 81% decrease in parcel volumes from 192 member countries (covering nearly all countries globally) since August 29 compared to a week prior.
Headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, the Universal Postal Union has been working on developing a technical solution to assist postal operators worldwide in calculating and collecting tariffs to boost the volume of parcels being sent to the United States following the repeal of the package tariff exemption policy for items valued below $800.
One of the reasons for the significant operational disruption cited by the organization is that airlines and other carriers have expressed unwillingness or inability to collect such tariffs, and foreign postal operators have not yet established connections with CBP-approved qualified companies.
Masahiko Metoki, the Director General of the Universal Postal Union, stated, “The mission of the Universal Postal Union is to ensure the free flow of mail within a single postal territory, and we are working diligently to fulfill this responsibility. Rapid development of a new technical solution to help mail resume its journey to the United States is underway.”
Starting from September 5, postal operators will be able to access a landed cost calculator through an application programming interface integrated with their retail and counter solutions, enabling them to calculate and collect the required tariffs from the origin customers.
This solution will be integrated into the customs declaration system platform, and the Universal Postal Union indicated that it will gradually allow 176 postal operators already using the platform to utilize this solution.
In May of this year, the Trump administration began imposing tariffs on low-value parcels from China and Hong Kong, prompting discount retailers like Shein and Temu to change their distribution models.
The U.S. government mentioned that the de minimis exemption system had become a loophole for foreign businesses to evade tariffs and for criminals to smuggle drugs into the United States. The White House noted that while this change applies to products from all countries, U.S. residents will not be required to pay duties on gifts valued at less than $100 or personal overseas travel souvenirs valued at less than $200 upon entry.