Countries halt postal services to U.S. over tariffs

Australia Post on Tuesday said it was temporarily and partially suspending postal services to the United States due to changes in import tariff rules. Under an executive order that takes effect Friday, the United States is ending its de minimis tariff exemption, which allowed goods under $800 to enter the country for free. More than 1.36 billion de minimis shipments arrived in the United States last fiscal year, according to Customs and Border Patrol estimates. Australia Post said the changes will not affect gifts under $100 and letters and documents with no commercial value.

Which other countries recently suspended all or most of their postal services to the United States? Japan’s and Taiwan’s postal services on Monday made similar announcements. Japan Post said it was ending deliveries of small packages with values over $100 starting Wednesday. Taiwan’s Chunghwa Post said it had no mechanism to pay the new duties and would only continue services for documents, letters, and newspapers. Other countries suspending mail service to the United States include: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on the trade framework the United States recently agreed to with the European Union.