A franchise exemption from rights is on the verge of expiring in the midst of Trump’s trade war. Postal services across Europe will stop shipments in the United States

The exemption, known as the “minimis” exemption, allows packages of a value of less than $ 800 to enter American franchise. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $ 64.6 billion, according to data from the US Customs and Border Patrol Agency.

He is expected to expire on Friday. On Saturday, postal services across Europe announced that they were suspending the expedition of many packages to the United States in the middle of the confusion on new import rights.

Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy said they would stop sending most goods to the United States with immediate effect. France and Austria will follow on Monday.

The Royal Mail in the United Kingdom said it would stop expeditions to the United States on Tuesday to give time to make these packages arrive before the tasks are triggered. Articles from the United Kingdom worth more than $ 100-including gifts to friends and family-will lead to a 10%service, he said.

“Key questions remain unresolved, in particular with regard to the manner and customs functions that will be obtained in the future, which additional data will be necessary and how the transmission of data to customs and the protection of American border will be carried out,” said DHL, the largest shipping supplier in Europe, in a press release.

The company said that from Saturday, it “will no longer be able to accept and transport plots and postal items containing goods from commercial customers intended for the United States”.

A commercial framework agreed by the United States and the European Union last month set a 15% rate on the vast majority of EU shipped products. Packages of less than $ 800 will now also be subject to the price.

The American exemption in franchise rights for goods from China ended in May as part of the Trump administration efforts to brake American buyers to order Chinese products with low value. The exemption is extended to expeditions around the world.

Many European postal services say they are now stopping deliveries because they cannot guarantee that goods will enter the United States before August 29. They cite the ambiguity of the type of goods covered by the new rules and the lack of time to treat their implications.

Postnord, the Nordic Logistics Company and the Italian postal service announced similar suspensions from Saturday.

“In the absence of different instructions from the American authorities … Italiane post will be forced, like other European postal operators, to temporarily suspend the acceptance of all shipments containing goods intended in the United States, from August 23. Mail shipments not containing goods will continue to be accepted,” said Italiane post on Friday.

Shipping by services such as DHL Express remains possible, he added.

Björn Bergman, head of the postnord group and communication, said the break was “unhappy but necessary to ensure the full compliance of the newly implemented rules”.

In the Netherlands, postnl spokesperson Wout said that the Trump administration is progressing with the new functions despite the American authorities without a system to collect them. He said Postnl works in close collaboration with his American counterparts to find a solution.

“If you have something to send to America, you should do it today,” Witteveen told the Associated Press.

The Austrian post, the first supply of logistics and posts from Austria, said that the last acceptance of commercial shipments in the United States, including Puerto Rico, will take place on Tuesday.

The national postal service of France, La Poste, said that the United States had not provided all the details or authorized enough time to the French postal service to prepare new customs procedures.

“Despite discussions with American customs services, no time has been provided to postal operators to reorganize and ensure the computer updates necessary to comply with the new rules,” he said in a statement.

Postorop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, said that if no solution can be found on August 29, all of its members would probably follow the step.