Having a company send home your purchased souvenirs from abroad? Continuing contact with businesses you encountered while traveling? These are just a few reasons we rely on postal service to the U.S. from other countries.
Unfortunately, there are now 20 countries that are temporarily suspending some parcel service to the U.S. These countries are reacting to President Trump’s executive order which ends a “de minimis” exemption this week. That exemption has previously allowed goods with a value of less than $800 to come into the U.S. without taxes or exhaustive checks by Customs agents.
According to language in the July 30 executive order, the “de minimis” (Latin for “too small to bother with,” essentially) practice permits overseas shippers to “evade duties, inspection, and U.S. law.” The order mentions fentanyl trafficking as a previous concern of the administration. The per-package charges are significant: $80, $160 or $200, based on the sending country’s tariff rates.
Small businesses abroad will suffer from these rates, and some countries have outright ended shipping to the U.S. of goods worth less than $800. Those countries include:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
New Zealand
Norway
Russia
Singapore
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Spain
Taiwan
Thailand
United Kingdom