The global parcel delivery system was thrown into disarray this week as at least 25 countries abruptly suspended shipments to the United States, following President Donald Trump’s decision to end a decades-old tariff exemption on low-value goods. The move, which took effect on August 29, 2025, has left American consumers and small businesses scrambling to understand the fallout—and wondering when, or if, normal service will resume.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU), the United Nations agency overseeing international mail, confirmed on Tuesday that postal operators from 25 member countries had halted outbound services to the U.S. According to a statement cited by AFP, "The postal operators of 25 member countries have already advised the UPU that they have suspended their outbound postal services to the US, citing uncertainties specifically related to transit services." The list includes Australia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and almost all of Europe, as reported by The Hill and Reuters. The confusion centers on the abrupt end of the so-called "de minimis" exemption, which had allowed packages valued at $800 or less to enter the U.S. duty-free.
For years, the de minimis rule was a lifeline for individuals and small businesses seeking affordable goods from abroad. According to The Hill, President Trump signed an executive order in late July 2025 to eliminate the exemption for all countries, after having already ended it for China and Hong Kong earlier in the year. That earlier move forced fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu to overhaul their operations and raise prices for American shoppers.
Now, as the exemption vanishes for the rest of the world, postal operators are scrambling to make sense of the new rules. Australia Post, for example, announced it would stop accepting parcels bound for the U.S. effective August 29, citing the need to "develop and implement a workable solution for our customers." In a statement, the company said, "We are disappointed we have had to take this action, however, due to the complex and rapidly evolving situation, a temporary partial suspension has been necessary to allow us to develop and implement a workable solution for our customers."
Japan Post and South Korea’s postal service also halted certain shipments, though in South Korea’s case, customers can still use private carriers like UPS. FedEx, meanwhile, emphasized it would continue to operate normally, unaffected by the decisions of national postal operators. "As an express carrier, our international express offerings are not impacted by the decisions of postal operators," FedEx Regional Vice President Peter Langley told Reuters.
So, what changed? At 12:01 a.m. EDT on Friday, August 29, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began collecting duties on all global parcel imports, regardless of value, country of origin, or shipping method. For the next six months, foreign postal agencies can choose between collecting a flat-rate duty—ranging from $80 to $200 per package, depending on the country’s tariff rate—or calculating an "ad valorem" duty based on the effective tariff rate of the package’s country of origin, as reported by Reuters. By February 28, 2026, all postal services must shift to full ad valorem duty collection based on the value of each shipment.
Letters, documents, and gifts worth under $100 remain exempt, but packages to the U.S. and Puerto Rico lodged on or after August 26, 2025, are not being accepted by many foreign postal services until further notice. The disruption has left consumers who already placed international orders in limbo, as shippers are holding packages that might not arrive before the new rules kicked in. The Hill notes that maximum values for personal packages now vary by country, adding another layer of complexity.
The policy change is part of a broader Trump administration effort to crack down on illicit goods, including fentanyl and its chemical precursors, entering the U.S. through international mail. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters, "President Trump's ending of the deadly de minimis loophole will save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous prohibited items, and add up to $10 billion a year in tariff revenues to our Treasury." A senior administration official told Reuters the change was permanent, adding that any push to restore the exemptions for trusted trading partner countries was "dead on arrival."
The de minimis exemption has a long history, dating back to 1938, when it was introduced to allow gifts valued at $5 or less to enter the country duty-free. In 2015, the threshold was raised from $200 to $800 to encourage small business growth on e-commerce marketplaces. But the explosion of direct shipments from China after Trump’s earlier tariffs created a new business model for companies like Shein and Temu, and led to an estimated 1.36 billion packages—nearly 4 million per day—claiming the exemption in fiscal 2024, up from just 139 million in 2015, according to CBP data cited by Reuters.
Retail analysts predict that the end of the de minimis exemption will raise prices for many goods sold through e-commerce companies, as those that previously avoided tariffs will now be charged duties. This may even the playing field for established retailers like Walmart, which import merchandise in bulk containers already subject to tariffs. The new rules are also likely to impact peer-to-peer platforms like eBay and Etsy, which are popular with small businesses and individuals selling secondhand or handmade items.
Some industry groups are celebrating the change. The National Coalition of Textile Organizations called it a "historic win" for U.S. manufacturing, arguing that it closes a loophole that allowed foreign fast-fashion firms to avoid tariffs and import apparel sometimes made with forced labor, undercutting American jobs. "The administration’s executive action closes this channel and delivers long overdue relief to the U.S. textile industry and its workers," the group said.
But for now, the immediate effect is confusion and higher costs. European postal groups, including Germany’s DHL and Norway’s Posten Bring, are scrambling to find ways to handle the new fees and paperwork. DHL has suspended standard parcel shipments for businesses, while Posten Bring paused shipments of packages under $800. "We are now working together with other postal companies in Europe and the world to find a solution for paying customs duties on the packages," said Posten Bring. Britain’s Royal Mail, on the other hand, resumed shipments on Thursday, allowing customers to pay any duties upfront plus a handling fee for U.S. clearance.
Express carriers like FedEx, UPS, and DHL are generally better equipped to collect duties and process customs data than traditional postal agencies, so their operations have continued largely uninterrupted. Still, as Kelly Ann Shaw, a former senior White House trade official, told Reuters, "I think there will be growing pains as this unfolds, but it is U.S. law. There will be a bit of a transition time while CBP figures out how to process these low-value shipments, which it hasn't had to do in many years."
For American consumers and small businesses reliant on affordable imports, the coming months will likely bring higher prices, more paperwork, and a fair bit of uncertainty as the world’s postal systems and e-commerce platforms adapt to a new, tariff-laden reality.