Australia Post shipping to US suspended in Trump tariff fallout
Australia Post has suspended shipping most parcels to the United States days before President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariff changes hits low-value items that had been exempt.
Trump signed an executive order last month imposing tariffs on goods worth less than $800 ($1230), beginning on August 29, prompting Australia Post to suspend service on business parcels to the US beginning today and lasting until further notice.
The order means that senders will need to pre-pay the tariffs before their parcels arrive in the US, causing havoc for global postal services that do not have their own technology to collect the money and send it to the US government.
Australia Post is suspending parcel deliveries into the US.
“We are disappointed we have had to take this action, however, due to the complex and rapidly evolving situation, a temporary partial suspension has been necessary to allow us to develop and implement a workable solution for our customers,” Australia Post executive general manager Gary Starr said in a statement.
Australia Post is partnering with American firm Zonos — one of only two customs compliance software providers approved in the US – to facilitate the payment of tariffs before products arrive on American shores but that system is not yet operating.
An email from Australia Post to its business customers seen by this masthead said Zonos would directly invoice and handle duty payments to US Customs and Border Protection on Australia Post customers’ behalf.
It encouraged customers to sign up for a Zonos account “as soon as possible” but did not say how long it would take for the two organisations’ systems to be integrated.
Similar pauses have been enacted by or are set to begin in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Austria and Italy because the “de minimis” exemption – which had allowed companies to send low-value parcels to the US without paying tariffs – is set to expire on August 29. Last week the international logistics companies DHL temporarily paused shipments to the US from business customers in its home country of Germany.
