(NewsNation) — Postal shipments to the U.S. are down 80% after President Donald Trump ended the de minimis exemption that made lower-value shipments exempt from tariffs.
The data comes from the UN agency, the Universal Postal Union, which also noted that 88 shipping providers around the globe have completely or partially suspended shipping to the U.S.
The de minimis exemption allowed packages under $800 in value to be shipped without being subject to any duties. The policy allowed consumers to directly purchase goods from overseas without being subject to tariffs and also allowed small businesses to buy supplies without the added expense of tariffs.
Trump ended the policy for China earlier in the year, striking a blow to companies like Shein and Temu that relied on the rule to sell ultra-cheap goods directly to American consumers.
On Aug. 29, the de minimis rule was ended for the rest of the globe, prompting a number of countries to halt most or all shipments to the U.S.
With the exemption ended, postal operators are responsible for completing additional paperwork and collecting the duties from consumers.
Postal operators say there wasn’t enough time to establish procedures to deal with the new system and they were not able to easily establish relationships with the relevant U.S. authorities.
It’s likely that many postal services will eventually resume shipments to the U.S., but it’s likely to come at a higher price for customers.
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