The Trump administration’s announcement that, starting from 29 August 2025, it would abolish the long-standing de minimis customs exemption has triggered a domino effect among European and international postal operators. For decades, this threshold had allowed parcels valued under 800 dollars to enter the United States duty-free, supporting small-scale trade that in 2024 alone accounted for 1.36 billion shipments worth a total of 64.6 billion dollars. Its removal therefore marks a watershed moment, but one managed in such a way that operators were left with extremely limited time to adjust. The executive order was signed on 30 July, while the technical specifications were only released on 15 August, less than two weeks before the deadline. Such a narrow window left no chance to prepare the IT systems and procedures required to ensure the collection of new duties and the correct transmission of customs data.
The immediate consequence has been the gradual suspension, between 22 and 27 August, of parcel shipments containing goods to the United States by leading European postal services. Operators have opted for caution to avoid the risk of consignments being held up at US customs in the absence of certainty over the new clearance procedures.
Among the first to act was Poste Italiane, which from 23 August stopped accepting parcels bound for the US, maintaining only letter mail without goods and international express services. Deutsche Post and Dhl Parcel Germany followed on 22 August, suspending shipments for business customers while keeping Dhl Express operational and allowing a few exceptions for gifts under 100 dollars. PostNord, covering Sweden and Denmark, cut off its parcel flows on 23 August, describing the measure as painful but necessary to avoid breaching the new rules. That same day, Bpost in Belgium, PostNL in the Netherlands, Posten Bring in Norway, Czech Post, Lithuanian Post and Latvian Post all implemented similar measures.
On 25 August the list grew longer. La Poste in France announced it would suspend shipments, with an exception only for private gifts valued below 100 euros. Correos in Spain and Portugal limited suspensions to parcels worth 800 dollars or less. Polish Post also reduced acceptance of shipments, citing restrictions imposed by US authorities and airlines. Austrian Post set 25 August as the last possible day to send parcels, making the suspension effective from the 26th, with exceptions only for gifts under 100 dollars and international express services. Finally, Royal Mail will enforce the suspension from 27 August, delaying by a couple of days compared with other operators to allow as many parcels as possible to arrive before the new rules take effect. From the UK, shipments above 100 dollars, including gifts for family and friends, will in any case be subject to a 10 per cent duty.
The crisis extends well beyond Europe. Extra-European operators have taken similar steps: India Post stopped shipping to the US from 25 August, allowing only letters and gifts up to 100 dollars, while Korea Post, Singapore Post, NZ Post and other postal services in Asia and Oceania have followed suit. The result is a global phenomenon that calls into question the very sustainability of low-value transatlantic trade flows.
