Archive · 6 Sep 2025
Postal Services to US Halted After Tariffs
The US government started charging extra taxes on small packages coming into the country.
This made it difficult for postal services worldwide to send mail to the US.
Because of this, 88 postal services have stopped or reduced their services to the US.
The UPU, which is like a global postal service helper, is working on a solution.
They're creating a system where the sender pays the tax upfront.
The changes mean carriers are responsible for paying these duties.
The UPU is also providing a calculator to help postal operators.
Most packages affected are related to online shopping.
88 postal operators worldwide suspended or limited services to the United States.
The move followed US tariffs on small packages, which started on August 29.
Postal traffic to the US decreased by 81 percent.
The UPU is developing a new system to calculate and collect duties.
The majority of impacted packages are from e-commerce.
- Who
- Universal Postal Union (UPU)
- What
- 88 postal services suspended or limited services to the United States due to new tariffs.
- When
- August 29, 2024, when the tariffs were implemented.
- Where
- Worldwide, impacting postal services to the United States.
- Why
- US tariffs on small packages caused operational disruptions.
- Affected Operators
- 88 worldwide
- Traffic Decline
- 81% drop to US
- Tariff Implementation Date
- August 29
- Initiating Entity
- US government
- UPU Role
- Developing new solution
- UPU Members
- 192