France and other European postal services are halting parcel deliveries to the United States as the end of a key duty-free rule throws transatlantic shipping into turmoil.
France’s national postal service, La Poste, has announced it will suspend most parcel deliveries to the United States, as confusion swirls around new American import rules.
The move, which takes effect Monday, puts France among the growing list of European postal operators hitting pause on shipments across the Atlantic.
At the heart of the disruption is the end of the long-standing “de minimis” exemption, which has allowed packages worth under $800 to enter the US duty-free.
Last year alone over one billion such parcels arrived in the US under this rule, carrying goods worth nearly $65 billion.
But from this week, the exemption disappears – and with it, the certainty that has underpinned a thriving trade in low-value packages.
La Poste said US authorities had failed to give postal operators enough time or detail to prepare for the change. “Despite discussions with US customs services, no time was provided to postal operators to re-organise and assure the necessary computer updates to conform to the new rules,” the company explained.
For French senders, the suspension will be frustrating but not permanent. Mail without merchandise – such as letters and documents – will continue to be accepted. But gifts, e-commerce orders and other goods are caught in the limbo created by the new tariffs.
EU readies response to new US tariffs, France braces for fallout
A Europe-wide pause
France joins Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy, which were among the first countries to suspend most merchandise shipments to the US as of Saturday.
Austria will follow the French timetable on Monday, while the UK’s Royal Mail has said it will stop US parcels from Tuesday. The aim is to ensure that items already in transit arrive before the tariffs bite.
“Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future,” DHL, Europe’s biggest shipping provider, said in a statement.
From Saturday, DHL stopped accepting parcels destined for the US from its European business customers.
In Italy, Poste Italiane confirmed that commercial shipments to the US would be suspended, although letters and non-merchandise mail are unaffected.
Sweden’s PostNord called its move “unfortunate but necessary,” while Dutch operator PostNL urged customers to send any urgent packages immediately, warning that US authorities still lacked a proper system to collect the new duties.
Trump unveils sweeping new global tariffs but delays deadline by a week
Shifting trade landscape
The new duties stem from a recent trade framework between Washington and Brussels, which sets a 15 percent tariff on the vast majority of EU-origin goods shipped to America. Crucially, packages under $800 – previously exempt – will now also be hit.
This follows an earlier step by the Trump administration in May to end the duty-free exemption for Chinese goods as part of its broader push to curb cheap imports. The extension to the rest of the world is the latest phase of that policy.
While private express services such as DHL Express can still deliver to the US, most European public postal operators say they have no choice but to suspend parcels until the rules become clearer.
PostEurop, the umbrella association for 51 postal services, has warned that if no solution emerges by 29 August, its entire membership may be forced to follow suit.
