Japan, Taiwan Change Parcel Delivery Rules to US
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Japan Post Co. will suspend shipping of some small packages to the United States due to fresh tariffs imposed by the U.S. government, in a sign of how President Donald Trump’s levies may impact smaller businesses and individuals.
The mail service will stop accepting parcels that include consumer goods for sale or gifts worth over $100 from Aug. 27, after the U.S. revoked its tariff exemption on lower-value packages from across the world, according to a statement published on its website.
“It is not clear what the appropriate processes for shipping companies and postal services are under the new guidelines, making operation extremely difficult. We will therefore be suspending the acceptance of smaller packages,” the statement said.
U.S. consumers were able to buy cheap goods from abroad under what was called the de minimis exemption, which allowed for smaller packages to be shipped into the U.S. duty-free.
That tariff exemption was revoked on May 2 for China and has now also been repealed for the rest of the world in a presidential order signed July 30 with the purpose of preventing the inflow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl.
An employee drives a cart pulling empty parcel trolleys at a Swiss Post parcel sorting center in Harkingen, Switzerland. Swiss Post has temporarily halted delivery of goods to the U.S. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg)
Japan Post’s decision falls in line with other national postal services that have temporarily suspended their shipping services to the U.S., including Britain and Australia. For now, Japan Post will continue providing a separate service for deliveries to the U.S. that complies with U.S. customs rules, albeit at significantly higher costs.
A recent survey on commerce website Ebay users found that fashion items, collector goods including trading cards, as well as auto parts were among the Japanese items that sold well in the U.S., according to a report by Japanese trading organization JETRO.
The same survey showed that more than 80% of respondents were considering entering markets other than the US as a response to American tariff measures.
Taiwan Postal Service Suspends US Small Parcels
Taiwan’s postal service has suspended deliveries of small parcels bound for the U.S., effective from Aug. 26, following the Trump administration’s decision to halt the “de minimis” duty exemption for low-value goods.
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The state-owned Chunghwa Post Co. has stopped delivering packages as “the global postal system has not yet provided a service allowing senders to prepay customs duty, and Chunghwa Post’s contracted carriers have also announced suspension of merchandise mail deliveries,” according to the company’s statement on Aug. 25.
Packages entering the country have long benefited from the exemption, a rule that has particularly favored overseas retailers such as Temu and Shein Group Ltd., which ship inexpensive clothing, household goods, and other consumer products directly to American buyers.
