Royal Mail has announced it will stop accepting parcels bound for the United States from Tuesday, joining several other European postal services in suspending shipments due to uncertainty over new US import tariffs. The move comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order abolishing a tax exemption for small packages worth under $800, effective from 29 August.
The so-called 'de minimis' exemption allowed 1.36 billion packages worth $64.6 billion to enter the US duty-free last year. Under the new rules, these parcels will face a 15% tariff, the same rate as most other EU imports. European postal operators say the late announcement left them with an extremely limited timeframe to prepare, and key questions remain about how the tariffs will be collected and what data will be required.
France's La Poste, Germany's Deutsche Post, Spain's Correos, Poste Italiane, and the Belgian, Swedish and Danish postal services have all halted most US-bound shipments. Austria's Österreichische Post and Royal Mail will stop accepting packages on Tuesday to allow time for items posted before then to arrive before the tariffs take effect.
European postal services will continue to ship letters and parcels sent by individuals containing gifts worth less than €100, but warn these will be subject to extra checks to prevent commercial use. DHL, Europe's largest logistics company, said it is no longer accepting parcels containing goods from business customers destined for the US.
Analysts say the regulatory changes are likely to have a considerable impact on small and medium-sized European companies exporting lower-value goods to the US. PostEurop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, warned that if no practical solutions are found before 29 August, all its members may suspend the bulk of parcel shipments to the US.
