Australia Post pauses U.S.-bound parcel shipments

Australia’s postal service mentioned on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) it had briefly suspended parcel shipments to the United States after President Donald Trump’s administration determined to scrap a customs tax rule that allowed low-value packages to enter responsibility free.

The Australian government-owned Australia Post’s transfer comes after a number of European and Asian carriers, together with Swiss Post and DHL, which runs Germany’s postal service Deutsche Post, Japan Post and Korea Post paused shipments to the United States due to the brand new guidelines.

Also learn | India Post suspends high-value bookings to U.S. from August 25

“We are disappointed we have had to take this action, however, due to the complex and rapidly evolving situation, a temporary partial suspension has been necessary to allow us to develop and implement a workable solution for our customers,” Australia Post mentioned in an announcement.

The U.S. authorities mentioned final month that packages valued at or beneath $800 despatched to the United States would face all relevant duties from August 29 because it suspended a “de minimis” exemption for low-value shipments.

Goods shipped by means of the postal system would face one among two tariffs: both an “ad valorem duty” equal to the efficient tariff fee of the bundle’s nation of origin or, for six months, a selected tariff of $80 to $200 relying on the nation of origin’s tariff fee.

Packages despatched to the U.S. and Puerto Rico lodged on or after August 26 wouldn’t be accepted till additional discover, the postal service mentioned. Gifts beneath $100, letters and paperwork are unaffected by the change.

Australia Post mentioned it could proceed to work with the U.S. and Australian authorities, and worldwide postal companions to renew providers to the U.S. quickly.

Nicola Charwat, Senior Lecturer at Monash University, mentioned the influence in Australia could be largely felt by small companies that promote on to U.S. customers.

“This includes businesses specialising in sustainable clothing and gifts, as well as distinctly Australian goods such as cosmetics, food and wine. These parcels will now be subject to a 10% baseline tariff,” Charwat mentioned.

Japan Post on Monday mentioned it could droop accepting some postal objects to the U.S. Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa mentioned the transfer would have “only a limited impact” on customers as there have been various transport strategies.

South Korea has stopped transport packages to the U.S. although clients will be capable to ship by means of its partnership service with UPS, Korea Post mentioned final week.

FedEx’s Australian enterprise mentioned it continued to just accept and transport shipments to the United States.

“As an express carrier, our international express offerings are not impacted by the decisions of postal operators,” FedEx Regional Vice President Peter Langley mentioned in an announcement.