Finland has stopped all postal services to the U.S. — letters and packages — because of the uncertainties associated with Trump’s elimination of the de minimis rule which exempted packages with a value of less than $800 from duty fees. Although the countries were notified on 15 August, the change goes into effect on August 29.
According to [Finish mail carrier] Posti, a decision by US President Donald Trump to remove the duty exemption on shipments to the US valued up to 800 dollars has led to widespread confusion.
The change means that customers must pay a customs fee before shipments can be sent to the United States, but postal companies across the world do not currently have systems in place to collect the required fee.
Trump called the de minimis rule a “loophole” but Congress implemented it in 1938. It was not part of the Smoot-Hawley tariffs that kicked off a tariff war during the Depression and which Trump appears to idolize.
It is unclear how Trump can legally override a law passed by Congress simply by writing an executive order.
Gifts less than $100 are technically exempt, but some foreign postal services are concerned that the cost of determining if a package is a gift and if the value is less than $100 is burdensome.
The tariff rates are exorbitant:
- $80 for countries with a tariff rate under 16%
- $160 for countries with a tariff rate between 16% and 25%
- $200 for countries with a tariff rate above 25% (eg, China, Brazil, India, Switzerland or Canada)
According to the Associated Press, packages using this exemption in 2024 contained goods valued at $64.6 billion.
Should you shrug and think, ‘Finland is a small country,” review this list of countries that have stopped either package delivery or both packages and letters (not exhaustive list):
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Demark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- India
- Italy
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Singaport
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- The United Kingdom
DHL outlined the problem and announced it would ship no packages to the US for the unforeseen future:
“Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out,” DHL, the largest shipping provider in Europe, said in a statement.
(Note: DHL recently charged me, the recipient not the sender, ~$40 in duty/fees for a pair of $80 pants from the UK.)
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com