The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is actively working on the rapid development of a new technical solution to resume mail delivery to the United States, assured its Director-General, Masahiko Metoki, in a statement.
According to the UPU, electronic network data exchanged among postal operators indicate that traffic to the United States decreased by 81% on August 29, compared to the previous Friday.
“Furthermore, 88 postal operators informed the UPU that they have stopped postal services to the U.S., either entirely or partially, until a solution is implemented,” stated the UN agency.
Among these companies are Germany’s Deutsche Post and the UK’s Royal Mail.
Based in Bern, Switzerland’s capital, the UPU was founded in 1874 and consists of 192 member countries. The organization sets the rules for international postal trade and makes recommendations to improve services.
By decree from July 30, but effective from August 29, the U.S. government decided to eliminate the customs duty exemption previously benefiting small postal parcels (shipments of goods with a value equal to or less than $800, equivalent to €686).
Since then, packages are subject to the same tariff rates applied to other imports from the countries of origin. For example, 15% for European Union (EU) countries or 50% for India.
Only shipments between individuals valued under $100 (€86) remain duty-free.
This decision led postal services from several countries to suspend package shipments to the United States.
Beyond the short timeframe for implementing the decision, the issue primarily lies in the decree requiring “carriers and other authorized parties to pre-collect customs duties from senders and transfer the consolidated amounts to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” explained the UPU at the end of August.
U.S. President Donald Trump justified the decision by the desire to “put an end to a catastrophic flaw used, among other things, to evade customs duties and ship synthetic opioids and other dangerous products.”
Initially, the U.S. measure, taken at the beginning of 2025, targeted only China and Hong Kong, as part of the Trump administration’s campaign against online commerce giants Shein and Temu. Eventually, it extended to all countries to ensure effectiveness.
