Postal services in Europe and around the world plan to halt shipping merchandise to the US as the Trump administration’s end of the de minimus tariff exemption goes into effect.
The “de minimus” exemption allowed internation carriers to ship goods valued under $800 to the US without paying any duties.
The White House announced the end of the exemption weeks ago, linking it to fentanyl and other illicit drugs coming into the US.
DHL, Europe’s largest shipping provider, said in a statement on its website Friday that “Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from business customers destined for the US” effective immediately.
The end of the exemption goes into effect Aug. 29.
DHL said its restrictions on packages would be temporary, explaining they were necessary because of “new processes required by US authorities for postal shipping, which differ from the previously applicable regulations.”
The company continued, “Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out.”
Postal services in Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Austria, France and Belgium have similarly said they plan to pause shipments to the US.
The UK’s Royal Mail has also temporarily paused shipments, according to the BBC.
Outside of Europe, Asian countries like Singapore and Thailand said their countries would also hold on shipments until there’s more clarity on the new rules.
“The halt underscores the sweeping disruption caused by President Trump’s decision to eliminate the de minimis threshold, which previously allowed low-value parcels to enter the US without customs duties,” Thailand Post said in a statement on its website. “The exemption, capped at US$800 per person per day, facilitated millions of small packages from around the world entering the US smoothly.”
Australia Post said it has paused transit on a handful of packages from other countries bound for the US.
“We have been working hard with US authorities and international partners to adapt our services to meet the new US de minimis requirements so UK consumers and businesses can continue to use our services when they come into effect,” the Royal Mail said.
The US ended the de minimus exemption for China in May.
The White House said at the time that many Chinese-based shippers hide illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, in low-value packages to exploit the de minimis exemption.
The administration said that the amount of de minimus shipments coming into the US has increased from 134 million to 1.34 billion between 2-15 and 2024, according to the Financial Times.
It has also helped Chinese-based fast fashion companies like Temu and Shein, which ship directly to customers.
FOX Business has reached out to the White House and DHL for comment.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
