Japan and Taiwan pause small shipments to US, Trump connection revealed
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
Postal operators in Taiwan and Japan have suspended the delivery of small parcels to the US valued at $800 or less. The move comes in response to new customs tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump, according to Bloomberg.
Taiwan’s state-owned company Chunghwa Post Co. halted the delivery of small parcels to the US starting Tuesday, August 26.
In a statement, the operator noted that the global postal system does not yet provide services allowing senders to prepay customs duties, and the carriers with which Chunghwa Post has contracts have also announced a suspension of postal deliveries containing goods.
Additionally, starting Wednesday, August 27, Japan Post Co. will suspend the shipment of certain small parcels to the US. The company will stop accepting parcels containing consumer goods for sale or gifts valued at over $100.
“It is not clear what the appropriate processes for shipping companies and postal services are under the new guidelines, making operation extremely difficult. We will therefore be suspending the acceptance of smaller packages,” the Japanese operator said in a statement.
Bloomberg noted that US consumers were previously able to buy inexpensive goods from abroad under the so-called de minimis exemption, which allowed small parcels to enter the US duty-free.
Parcels benefiting from this exemption have long been popular, especially for foreign retailers such as Temu and Shein Group Ltd., which ship low-cost clothing, home goods, and other consumer products directly to American buyers.
Japan Post’s decision aligns with actions taken by other national postal services that have temporarily halted shipments to the US, including those in the UK and Australia.
Currently, Japan Post will continue to offer a separate delivery service to the US that complies with US customs rules, though at significantly higher prices.
A recent eBay user survey showed that Japanese fashion items, collectibles, including trading cards, and auto parts sell well in the US.
The same survey indicated that over 80% of respondents are considering entering markets outside the US in response to the tariff measures implemented by the Trump administration.
New US customs rules
On February 5, the US Postal Service suspended the acceptance of parcels from China and Hong Kong due to the elimination of the de minimis exemption.
However, the next day, President Trump signed an executive order that delayed tariffs on Chinese goods and temporarily prohibited new duties on inexpensive Chinese parcels. Nevertheless, on May 2, the US officially removed this duty exemption for China.
On July 30, President Trump signed an executive order, effective August 29, suspending duty exemptions for parcels valued at $800 or less sent to the US from all other countries worldwide.
The measure was introduced to prevent the import of illegal drugs, such as fentanyl.
Following the new order, European postal services stopped sending parcels valued under $800 to the US on August 23.
