FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs within the Rose Garden on the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Postal traffic into the United States plunged by greater than 80% after the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, the United Nations postal company stated Saturday.
The Universal Postal Union says it has began rolling out new measures that may assist postal operators world wide calculate and gather duties, or taxes, after the U.S. eradicated the so-called “de minimis exemption” for lower-value parcels.
Eighty-eight postal operators have instructed the UPU that they’ve suspended some or all postal providers to the United States till an answer is applied with regard to U.S.-bound parcels valued at $800 or much less, which had been the cutoff for imported items to escape customs expenses.
“The global network saw postal traffic to the U.S. come to a near-halt after the implementation of the new rules on Aug. 29, 2025, which for the first time placed the burden of customs duty collection and remittance on transportation carriers or U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency-approved qualified parties,” the UPU stated in an announcement.
The UPU stated info exchanged between postal operators via its digital community confirmed traffic from its 192 member nations — almost all of the world nations — had fallen 81% on Aug. 29, in contrast to every week earlier.
The Bern, Switzerland-based company stated the “major operational disruptions” have occurred as a result of airways and different carriers indicated they weren’t keen or ready to gather such duties, and overseas postal operators had not established a hyperlink to CBP-qualified firms.
Before the measure took impact, the postal union despatched a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to specific considerations about its influence.
The de minimis exemption has existed in some kind since 1938, and the administration says the exemption has turn into a loophole that overseas companies exploit to evade tariffs and criminals use to get medicine into the U.S.
Purchases that beforehand entered the U.S. without having to clear customs now require vetting and are topic to their origin nation’s relevant tariff fee, which may vary from 10% to 50%.
While the change applies to the merchandise of each nation, U.S. residents is not going to have to pay duties on incoming presents valued at up to $100, or on up to $200 price of non-public souvenirs from journeys overseas, in accordance to the White House.
The UPU stated its members had not been given sufficient time or steerage to adjust to the procedures outlined within the govt order U.S. President Donald Trump signed on July 30 to eradicate the duty-free eligibility of low-value items.