Many parcel and mail deliveries from Mexico to the United States have been put on hold temporarily after the Trump administration eliminated the so-called “de minimis exemption” for lower-value postal goods.
“The global network saw postal traffic to the U.S. come to a near halt after the implementation of the new rules on August 29,” the Universal Postal Union (UPU)* said in a statement.
This exemption allowed businesses and consumers to send packages valued under US$800 to the U.S. without paying tariffs.
Although the U.S. government had imposed various country-specific duties on low-value goods since January, last month’s move ended the de minimis exemption almost globally, imposing duties based on the origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10 to 50 percent.
These changes have affected postal and parcel service providers in Mexico and worldwide, with many announcing a suspension of postal shipping to the U.S. According to Fortune magazine, the UPU said that “major operational disruptions have occurred because airlines and other carriers indicated they weren’t willing or able to collect such duties, and foreign postal operators had not established a link to U.S. Customs and Border Protection-qualified companies.”
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