Postal services across Europe have suspended most parcel shipments to the United States, citing widespread uncertainty about new import tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. The move comes after Trump signed an executive order abolishing the 'de minimis' exemption for packages worth under $800, which will now face a 15% tariff from 29 August.
France's La Poste joined Germany's Deutsche Post, Spain's Correos, Poste Italiane, and the Belgian, Swedish and Danish postal services in halting operations over the weekend. Austria's Österreichische Post and the UK's Royal Mail said they would stop accepting packages on Tuesday to allow time for parcels posted before then to arrive before the tariffs take effect.
Analysts have warned that the changes, if maintained, will hit small and medium-sized European companies that export lower-value goods to the US. Last year, 1.36 billion packages worth $64.6 billion were sent under the exemption, according to US Customs.
European operators said they would continue shipping letters and gifts worth under €100, but warned of extra checks to prevent commercial use. DHL, Europe's largest logistics company, blamed 'widespread uncertainty' over how tariffs would be collected and what data would be required. La Poste said US authorities confirmed the rules only on 15 August, leaving an 'extremely limited timeframe to get prepared'.
The Dutch postal service PostNL noted that US authorities lack a system to collect the new duties, while Royal Mail expressed hope the interruption would last only a few days. PostEurop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, warned that all its members could suspend bulk parcel shipments to the US if no practical solution is found before 29 August.
