Primary shipping services, including the European branch of DHL, multiple European state postal services, Australia Post, Japan Post and Taiwan’s state postal service, have stopped shipping consumer goods of varying amounts (over $100 in some cases) to the US. The pause is currently expected to be temporary as countries respond to the latest US tariff measures, but could have a significant impact on US businesses selling anything from Taiwanese GPUs and Japanese card packs to European electronics.
The response stems from tariff actions related to the «de minimis» trade option, which allows the US to select certain business-friendly goods to be duty-free when shipped into the United States.
In July, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that appeared to ban the use of this de minimis option. Postal companies have paused services for the time being, reporting that they aren’t sure how the specifics of the order affect them and did not have time to respond. As the additional tariffs go into effect, shipping companies say to expect downtime as they seek to understand the rules and retool their shipping processes.
Major shipping companies from other countries, including India, have said they will follow suit soon.
While the details and timeframe are currently unknown, it’s likely that if shipping from these countries resumes, it will be at significantly higher duties and related taxes, which US businesses may pass down to consumers as higher retail prices. Until then, several overseas sellers are expected to stop taking orders from US buyers altogether.
Read more: Tech Tariff Anxiety Is Still High. CNET Survey Finds 64% of Shoppers Are Rushing to Buy Tech to Dodge Price Spikes and Shortages
Can people still send packages to the US?
Small consumer-oriented packages can still be sent through most services, depending on the specific value and related rules that shipping companies currently have. For example, if someone is trying to send a personal gift during this time, it shouldn’t be affected.
However, businesses that trade in international goods — including online shops on eBay and Etsy — currently have little recourse except to rely on current stock, find other suppliers or wait for the situation to be resolved. That’s an unfortunate situation ahead of big Labor Day sales.