ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The end of an exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages coming into the United States is causing multiple international postal services to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the rule.
The exemption, known as the “ de minimis” exemption, allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency.
It is set to expire on Friday. On Saturday, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid confusion over new import duties.
Love it. I hope other countries follow suit since no one here in the US is going to learn until life starts being inconvenient/uncomfortable.
Australia has also stopped, and I think there are a few more countries outside Europe. Right now the US economy is Wile E. Coyote after he’s run off the edge of the cliff but before he realizes it…
From what I’ve been reading it’s nearly the whole world.
Saves them having to hold a ton of us crap that’s got a $400 tariff on a 59 cent item and they buyer says fuck that keep it.