Multiple postal services around Europe have announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid a lack of clarity over new import duties.
Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy said they will stop shipping most merchandise to the US effective immediately. France and Austria will follow tomorrow, and the United Kingdom Tuesday.
Under a decree signed by President Donald Trump last month, international goods that were previously exempt from US tariffs will be subject to import duties from August 29. Letters, books, gifts and small parcels worth less than 100 US Dollars will continue to be exempt.
A trade framework agreed by the US and the European Union last month set a 15% tariff on the vast majority of products shipped from the EU.
Many European postal services say they are pausing deliveries now because they cannot guarantee the goods will enter the US before August 29. They cite ambiguity about what kind of goods are covered by the new rules, and the lack of time to process their implications.
