The President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an executive order at the end of July, declaring the termination of the “de minimis” policy starting from August 29. This move has led to over 20 countries worldwide suspending the shipment of goods valued at $800 or less to the United States.
Since 2016, the “de minimis” policy has allowed goods valued at $800 or less to enter the United States duty-free and without inspection, becoming a crucial system relied upon by global e-commerce and cross-border retail. However, the Trump administration deemed the system to have been abused, allowing global sellers to evade tax and inspection obligations and facilitating the smuggling of illegal drugs such as fentanyl.
Data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed that in 2024, a total of 13.6 billion packages with a total value of $64.6 billion entered the U.S. using this system, with the majority originating from China. The White House pointed out that this figure had nearly increased tenfold since 2015, highlighting loopholes in the policy.
As of August 26, the following national postal services have announced the suspension of sending goods valued at $800 or less to the U.S.: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
Some postal services still allow the sending of letters, documents, or low-value gifts (typically below $100 or $150). The U.S. Postal Service continues to accept documents and non-commodity mail from these countries.
Australia Post: Suspended the sending of most goods parcels to the U.S. from August 26 onwards, retaining only documents and gifts under $150. The company expressed regret over this decision but cited the need to temporarily suspend services due to policy uncertainties while working on solutions.
Austrian Post and Poste Italiane: Ceased sending goods parcels from August 23 onwards, only accepting mail without merchandise. The Italian side criticized the U.S. for not providing a transition period for system updates.
La Poste (France): Halted the sending of commercial parcels from August 25, with gift parcels (under $100) being an exception. The French side criticized the Trump administration for not coordinating enough transition time with European postal services.
German DHL and Deutsche Post: Stopped receiving shipments from business users to the U.S. after August 22, stating that many key issues remained unresolved, such as tax collection responsibilities, data formats, and transmission mechanisms.
Royal Mail (United Kingdom): Ceased sending parcels on August 26, announced the development of a new service model, and planned to resume delivery within 1-2 days.
Japan Post: From August 27 onwards, no longer accepting small parcels containing merchandise or gifts valued over $100. The lack of clarity in the new policy guidelines was cited as the reason they were unable to guarantee compliance.
Chunghwa Post (Taiwan): Suspended the delivery of small parcels to the U.S. from August 26. The company stated that the international postal system currently cannot prepay U.S. tariffs, and their collaborating carriers have also suspended services simultaneously.
Several postal services have indicated that once system upgrades and process adjustments are completed, they will gradually resume services to the U.S. However, before that happens, both senders and consumers will have to face the pressure of service interruptions and potential cost increases.