Postal traffic plummets 80% after Trump ends tariff exemption on low-value parcels

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Following the Trump administration’s elimination of a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, postal traffic into the United States fell by more than 80%, according to the Associated Press.

The Universal Postal Union said it launched new measures that can help postal operators around the globe to calculate and collect duties after the U.S. cut the so-called “de minimis exemption” for lower-value parcels.

Eighty-eight postal operators have told the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal services to the U.S. until a solution is put in place regarding U.S.-bound parcels valued at $800 or less.

Information exchanged between postal operators through UPU’s electronic network reportedly showed traffic from its 192 member countries — nearly all the world countries — had dropped 81% on Aug. 29, compared to a week earlier.

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