Global Postal Services Suspend U.S Bound Mail

UNITED STATES – Several international postal services have temporarily stopped accepting certain parcels bound for the United States following the suspension of a longstanding customs exemption.

Postal providers including Taiwan’s Chunghwa Post, Japan Post, and Australia Post announced the move earlier this week after the U.S. government ended a “de minimis” rule that allowed low-value packages to enter the country duty-free.

Ko Ching-Chang, Director at Chunghwa Post, said the change has affected postal services worldwide.

“This issue is one that postal services around the world are facing together. It mainly stems from airlines being unable to carry out such shipments due to the tariffs involved. As a result, we had no choice but to make a difficult decision. That’s why, as of yesterday, we officially ceased handling low-value duty-free parcels, and starting today, we are suspending the acceptance of such items,” Ko said.

Under the new U.S. policy, packages valued at $800 or less are no longer exempt from duties. Shipments via the postal system now face either a duty equivalent to the effective tariff rate of the sender’s country or a specific duty ranging from $80 to $200, depending on the origin country.

Several European carriers have also temporarily halted shipments, including Swiss Post and DHL, which operates Germany’s Deutsche Post.