Postal shipments to US down by 80% after de minimis ends

FILE – In this Aug. 18, 2020, file photo, mail delivery vehicles are parked outside a post office in Boys Town, Neb. The U.S. Postal Service says it has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to placing orders for next-generation mail vehicles. That keeps the Postal Service on track for taking delivery of the first of the electric- and gas-powered delivery vehicles next year. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 that the completion of an evaluation required by the National Environmental Policy Act is an important milestone for postal carriers who’ve soldiered on with overworked delivery trucks that went into service from 1987 to 1994. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

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(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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