President Donald Trump’s executive order ending duty-free de-minimis exemptions for imports is already triggering fallout overseas, with Korea Post announcing that it will be halting all air parcels bound to the U.S. starting August 25.
Parcels Halted Amid Changes To Customs Policy
On Thursday, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the counter acceptance of U.S.-bound air parcels will be halted from August 25, and all items, except for duty-free documents, will be suspended, starting August 26, according to a report by Yonhap News.
This has been attributed to the recent changes in the U.S. Customs policy, which is set to go into effect from August 29. The White House order, issued July 30, suspended the $800 duty-free exemptions that previously allowed low-value goods to enter the U.S. without tariffs.
See Also: Walmart Stock Tumbles: CEO Warns Tariffs Are Raising Costs
According to Trump, the move was necessary, “to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threats” to the safety and security of Americans.
Korea Post notes that the mandatory declaration and customs duties on all U.S.-bound items have led to difficulties in processing shipments for the mail network.
The “EMS Premium” product, however, which is operated in partnership with a private company, is still available, with the service handling customs clearance and charging the duties to the recipient.
Korea Post’s CEO, Cho Hae-geun, says, “Customer uncertainty has increased due to changes in U.S. tariff policy. We will closely monitor related trends and swiftly develop countermeasures to minimize inconvenience to the public.”
eCommerce Giants Brace For Impact
eCommerce companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), which is the parent company of Temu and Shein, are all bracing for impact.
Platforms such as Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOP), Commerce.com Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRC) and Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (NYSE:LSPD), which primarily cater to small online merchants, are also set to see significant headwinds as a result of this move.
| Stocks | Year-To-Date Performance | Since Liberation Day |
| Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) | +0.79% | +29.75% |
| Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) | +39.01% | +1.33% |
| PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) | +26.91% | +17.99% |
| Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ:SHOP) | +27.11% | +77.76% |
| Commerce.com Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRC) | -26.54% | -16.23% |
| Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (NYSE:LSPD) | -25.54% | +49.10% |
Other Postal Services Halt Shipments
Besides Korea Post, Sweden’s PostNord has announced that it will be temporarily pausing shipments containing goods to the United States. “This decision is unfortunate but necessary to ensure full compliance of the newly implemented rules,” says Björn Bergman, Head of Group Brand and Communication for PostNord.
The Czech Republic’s postal service announced that it will be stopping shipments to the U.S. until further notice, starting August 21. The U.K.’s Royal Mail, however, plans to halt shipments to the U.S. only for one or two days, as it transitions to a new system to accommodate these changes, according to a report by The Edge Singapore.
This was followed by the Austrian Post, which joined its European peers in Scandinavia and Belgium to temporarily pause shipments, according to a Reuters report.
Photo Courtesy: Valery Evlakhov on Shutterstock.com
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