Global postal services are standing up. Even more dramatically, major companies such as PostNord and DHL have stopped making deliveries to the United States because of the abrupt amendment of the de minimis exemption on imported goods. These new regulations go into effect on August 29, 2023. They seek to address issues of surging false declarations of products as well as duty evasion.
The de minimis exemption previously allowed consumers to purchase low-value items, such as clothing and household goods, from popular online retailers like Shein and Temu without incurring import duties. Until recently, this exemption applied to packages worth up to $800. Yet the Trump administration called this a victory by announcing a record increase in de minimis shipments. They rocketed up from 115 million in the 2023/24 financial year to 309 million as of June 30 this year.
On May 2, the United States terminated the duty-free rule for Chinese goods through the de minimis exemption. Originally, the implementation of these changes was supposed to begin on July 1, 2027. President Trump signed an executive order moving this timeline up by two years. Now, all packages in excess of those modest thresholds will face new tariff rates. These rates will be the same ones used for other products of the same country of origin. Personal items worth $200 or less will remain exempt from these expansions. Gifts of $100 or less will continue to be exempted as well.
The announcement has inspired many postal services to reconsider how they do business. Update, March 18, 2020 PostNord has now suspended its operations until further notice. In response, they laid out how US authorities only provided the details needed to make the changes by August 15.
Bjorn Bergman, PostNord’s head of group brand and communication, commented on the situation:
“This decision is unfortunate but necessary to ensure full compliance of the newly implemented rules.”
DHL expressed its commitment to resuming postal goods shipping to the US swiftly, emphasizing its goal to adapt to the new regulatory landscape.
“The company’s goal is to resume postal goods shipping to the US as quickly as possible.” – DHL
As postal services worldwide continue to navigate the impact of this executive order, many questions still linger. Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany expressed that “significant questions still need to be clarified” regarding logistics and compliance.
Etsy encourages users to monitor the tariffs as they continue to evolve. They suggest that users continue to monitor guidance from their chosen shipping providers.
“The state of tariffs is evolving, so please be sure to keep an eye on recommendations from your preferred shipping carrier.” – Etsy
The White House asserted that the changes are essential in combating issues such as “escalating deceptive shipping practices, illegal material, and duty circumvention.”