Global Mail Carriers Suspend U.s. Deliveries Amid Confusion Over New Duties

LONDON — Postal services crossed nan world are halting shipments to the United States this week amid mounting disorder complete caller import duties that will use to parcels starting Friday.

President Donald Trump signed an executive bid past month abolishing nan waste and acquisition loophole known arsenic “de minimis,” which since 2016 had allowed equipment worthy up to $800 to participate nan U.S. duty-free.

The extremity of nan exemption is being extended worldwide aft nan loophole was closed successful May for packages from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Under nan caller rules, individual gifts worthy little than $100 will still beryllium duty-free, but each different packages will look nan aforesaid tariffs arsenic modular imports from their state of origin.

The planned argumentation shift, which operators opportunity lacks clear procedures, has raised concerns astir backlogs arsenic services are put connected hold.

Postal providers successful Belgium, Denmark and New Zealand are among respective operators that person already suspended shipments of packages to nan U.S. until they tin retool their systems to comply pinch nan caller rules. Letters and documents are mostly unaffected.

Services successful Germany, France, Britain and India person announced they will travel suit successful nan coming days.

France’s nationalist postal service, La Poste, said successful a connection that nan U.S. did not supply afloat specifications aliases let capable clip to hole for caller customs procedures. New Zealand’s postal work said parcel deliveries to each U.S. states and territories would beryllium “temporarily unavailable until further notice” while systems are updated to meet caller U.S. customs requirements.

DHL, 1 of nan world’s largest courier companies, said Friday that it will extremity accepting parcels containing equipment from business customers destined for nan U.S. opening Monday.

The institution cited unresolved “key questions” astir nan process, including “how and by whom customs duties will beryllium collected successful nan future, what further information will beryllium required, and really nan information transmission to nan U.S. Customs and Border Protection will beryllium carried out.”

DHL will, however, proceed to present backstage parcels branded arsenic gifts weighted nether $100, successful statement pinch White House assurances.

The White House said ending nan duty-free exemption would thief combat “escalating deceptive shipping practices, forbidden material, and work circumvention,” claiming immoderate shippers had “abused” nan exemption to nonstop illicit narcotics specified arsenic fentanyl into nan U.S.

It said nan number of de minimis parcels jumped from 134 cardinal successful 2015 to much than 1.36 cardinal successful 2024 arsenic shippers “deceptively utilization nan de minimis privilege successful an effort to evade duties, inspection, and U.S. law.”

Most of those packages came from mainland China and Hong Kong, which nan Trump management initially targeted arsenic portion of efforts to curb American shoppers from ordering low-value equipment from China-linked retailers specified arsenic Temu and Shein.

The White House concisely closed nan loophole for mainland China and Hong Kong successful February, but quickly extended nan deadline to May 2 amid disorder complete really nan caller duties would beryllium collected.