Swiss Post Joins Other Nations Suspending US Goods Shipments
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Swiss Post will follow other countries in temporarily halting the delivery of goods to the U.S., after the Trump administration scrapped an exemption limit for imports.
The move by Switzerland’s national postal service will take effect from Aug. 26, according to a statement. It follows President Donald Trump’s elimination of a tariff loophole for so-called “de minimis” merchandise. Such packages, with a retail value of no more than $800, will cease to be exempted from Aug. 29, according to a White House fact sheet.
After initially targeting mainland China and Hong Kong, Trump last month said the de minimis exemption would end for items sent from anywhere in the world.
The U.S. will tax a posted package in one of two ways: The importer can pay a percentage levy on its value equivalent to the new “reciprocal” tariff rate that the U.S. has assigned to its country of origin, which is 39% in the case of Switzerland. Or, for the first six months of the new policy, the importer can pay a flat duty ranging from $80 to $200 per item, depending on the applicable reciprocal rate.
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Following trade negotiations with Trump, Switzerland was hit with the highest import tariff rate of any developed nation, threatening businesses and the economy. While Swiss officials are working to remedy the situation, and have made a new offer to the U.S. to get better trade terms, the nation is still reeling from the tariff shock.
Document and express consignments to the U.S. are still possible, the Swiss postal agency said. State-owned Swiss Post said its decision is influenced by new U.S. customs clearance regulations, which “differ greatly from the Universal Postal Union’s previous regulations.”
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“The new rules affect all postal companies worldwide and are being introduced at very short notice,” Swiss Post said. “Important issues surrounding liability and the implementation of the new rules are still unresolved.”
Postal services in other European countries such as Austria and Belgium have announced similar measures after U.S. authorities had shared detailed requirements for implementation earlier this month.
With the de minimis threshold as high as it has been in the U.S., around 4 million small packages claiming exemptions crossed into the U.S. every day in 2024. These parcels often went unchecked before being transferred to a truck for delivery directly to the consumer’s doorstep. Now the goods will be channeled through customs and incur levies.
