List of Countries Suspending Parcel Shipments to the US and Know Why?

In anticipation of higher taxes, postal systems worldwide have ceased sending some items to the US after Donald Trump eliminated an exemption for parcels valued at less than US $800.

Due to the fact that most deliveries will be paid full tariff rates after August 29th, carriers have been temporarily halting operations since Friday in order to avoid delivering packages after that date.

US Parcel Shipments Get Costly

Following the Trump administration's removal of a rule exempting goods valued under US$800 from tariffs, the cost of delivering packages to the US is expected to skyrocket.

Postage will be significantly more expensive since shipments will be subject to costs based on the tariff rates that apply to their country of origin. As a result, the higher expense will either need to be covered by postal services or passed on to consumers.

What Was the Old Rule?

Prior to Trump's tariff actions, shipments worth less than US$800 were exempt from the postal service due to "de minimis" regulations—a Latin phrase meaning "items too small to care about." Trump declared in July that he would stop the de minimis treatment.

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List of Countries that Suspended Parcel Shipments to US

Postal services to the US have been suspended in dozens of nations to give themselves time to adapt to the new regulations and factor in the higher costs.

Which Mail Services are Suspended?

Suspensions for service vary per nation. Letters to the US will still be sent by several postal systems, but packages under $800 will no longer be shipped.

Technically, tariffs won't apply to letters or personal presents under $100 after Friday, but some services have stopped shipping any goods to the US, while others have stopped shipping to the US completely.

Tariffs won't be applied to packages that arrived before Friday and had already been delivered to the US. New Zealand's service stated that it will impose all customs and taxes on the recipient, while Belgium's post stated that those that arrive after Friday might be returned to the sender to avoid penalties.

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Why did this Happen?

This development is the most recent outcome of the Trump administration's trade policy reforms and the use of tariffs as a diplomatic tool.

De minimis exclusions allowed companies to sell items at comparatively lower rates if they were sent in smaller bundles, facilitating substantial duty-free trade worldwide.

According to US Customs, 1.36 billion parcels comprising $64.6 billion worth of products were received in the US in 2024 under the exemption. The rule has helped online businesses, including Temu, Shein, Etsy, and Amazon.

Now that the de minimis exemption has been eliminated, it will impact all nations that are subject to tariffs.

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