Reduced parcel volumes to smaller packages lead to a drastic 80% decline in mailing to the United States - Decline in Postal Services for Small Parcels: US Postal Services Suffer a 80% Drop Due to Tariffs
The Universal Postal Union (WPV) has announced that it is working on a new technical solution to resume postal services to the United States, following the country's abolition of customs exemptions for packages from around the world valued at under $800 (around β¬700).
The new rules, which came into effect on August 29, have caused confusion and restrictions in many countries, including Germany. As a result, 88 postal service providers from 78 UN member states and 9 territories have restricted or suspended shipments to the USA.
Deutsche Post and DHL, two major German postal operators, had already restricted the shipment of goods from Germany to the USA due to uncertainties about the new rules before August 29. The number of shipments to the USA on August 29 decreased by 81% compared to the previous week.
The technical solution developed by the WPV to resume postal services to the USA is called the Delivered-Duty-Paid (DDP) solution. This solution will be integrated via an API that allows postal operators to calculate and collect necessary customs fees from customers.
The new technical solution will allow companies to calculate and collect the due customs duties in the customer's country of origin as an interim solution. The customs duty for small packages from the EU to the USA is 15%. Many packages now incur the same customs duty as other imports from the country of origin.
However, key questions about the new US rules regarding customs duties remain unanswered. These include how customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data is required, and how data transmission to the US customs authority will take place.
WPV Director General Masahiko Metoki has written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to outline the problems. A program for calculating customs duties has been available since Friday, according to the WPV. Work is now underway on integrating this program into the WPV's customs clearance platform.
Some private shipments from Germany to the USA still qualify for exceptions. The new rules apply to packages from around the world, and the new rules have resulted in many packages incurring the same customs duty as other imports from the country of origin. The WPV's technical solution aims to address these issues and facilitate the resumption of postal services to the USA.
