August 27, 2025

Hold your breath! The Global postal world is buzzing with drama as 25 countries have slammed the breaks on sending goods to the US. Why? Because the Trump administration decided to scrap the tax exemption on small packages under $800 starting August 29. This sudden change is causing chaos! Countries like France, Britain, Germany, Italy, India, Australia, and Japan have all announced that they will no longer accept sending most packages to the US for now. The United Nations' Universal Postal Union (UPU), a big global postal group formed way back in 1874 with 192 member countries, confirmed this surprising news on Tuesday. They said 25 member countries told them their postal operators "have suspended their outbound postal services to the US, citing uncertainties specifically related to transit services." But the question on everyone's lips – how will these changes actually work? The UPU warns that the new US rule will mean "considerable operational changes" for postal services worldwide. From Friday, sending packages to the US will become a hustle. Postal carriers will have to collect customs duties from the senders before the package even leaves, on behalf of US Customs and Border Protection. India's communications ministry also weighed in, explaining that the US order asks transport carriers or "qualified parties" approved by US authorities to collect and send in these tariff charges. But the tricky part? Several key details about who these "qualified parties" are and exactly how the money collection will work are still a mystery. Here’s a tiny relief: Individuals can still send gifts and documents worth up to $100 without any tax. But hold on, anything over that will face hefty tariffs – imagine 15% for EU countries and a massive 50% for India! Germany’s postal giant DHL warned last week that even those gifts might get extra tough checks to stop people using this route for business goods. The UPU is sweating over this, too. Its chief, Masahiko Metoki, wrote to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise concerns about the huge operational troubles these changes could cause globally. They are scrambling to work with US officials to clear up the confusion and are pushing postal groups to find "sustainable solutions". One bright idea on the table is building a new system to help collect and transfer these duty payments smoothly worldwide. So, will the globe's postal magic find a way around this new twist? For now, 25 countries have hit pause, packages are stuck, and the countdown to August 29 is shaking the world's delivery game!

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Tags: Universal postal union, Us tariffs, Postal services, De minimis exemption, Package shipments, International trade,