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Dusseldorf, Germany
Reuters
—
German postal services group DHL said Friday that it would suspend the shipment of standard parcels for businesses to the United States, in line with similar moves by European peers deterred by looming US customs duties for low-value packages.
US President Donald Trump’s administration said last month that it would suspend the global “de minimis” exemption, which also allows minimal paperwork, for international shipments under $800, effective August 29.
Earlier this week, postal groups in Scandinavia, Austria and Belgium said they would pause parcel shipments to the US.
“The reason for these likely temporary restrictions is new processes required by US authorities for postal shipping,” DHL said.
August 25 will be the last day it takes consignments, but premium delivery service DHL Express will not be affected by the suspension, the company added.
It said private customers could continue to send gifts worth less than $100 to the US as a standard parcel but these shipments would be subject to even stricter controls to prevent misuse.
On Thursday, Austrian Post said it would no longer take consignments for US-bound standard parcels from next Tuesday.
The state-controlled group cited both the scrapping of the “de minimis” exemption and uncertainty over future US postal customs clearance as reasons for its move.
“This tightening poses major challenges for all postal companies worldwide when sending goods to the USA,” it said.
Similarly to DHL, the company added that it would continue to send gifts worth less than $100 to the US via standard parcel and that the suspension would also not apply to its premium service Post Express International.
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