Dive Brief:
- The Universal Postal Union has begun deploying a “Delivery Duty Paid” capability to help operators resume U.S.-bound services after the de minimis exemption's elimination, per an announcement last week.
- The global postal agency said as of Friday, operators can use a landed-cost calculator that can be integrated into their services. The tool allows postal carriers to calculate and collect the duties necessary for U.S. shipments from customers.
- The UPU will soon integrate the offering into its Customs Declaration System, allowing postal operators using the platform to collect duties and transmit them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection via a qualified third party. The agency said it will help operators adapt internal procedures and train staff for the tool.
Dive Insight:
Mail services across the globe are scrambling for ways to restart shipments to the U.S. after the Trump administration nixed the de minimis exemption and began assessing duties on postal packages. E-commerce merchants have often used the international postal system as a cost-effective way to ship parcels to U.S. consumers.
De minimis' end means postal duties must be collected and remitted by carriers or approved parties. However, operators struggled to adjust to this mandate before the Aug. 29 deadline. This resulted in many postal services halting shipments to the U.S.
"Carriers, such as airlines, signalled they were unwilling or unable to bear this responsibility and postal operators had not yet established a link to the list of CBP qualified parties, causing major operational disruptions," the UPU announcement said.
As a result, when the de minimis exemption ended on Aug. 29, traffic from UPU member countries to the U.S. was down 81% compared to the week prior, per the UPU. The agency said 88 postal operators have suspended some or all of their U.S.-bound services until a solution is implemented.
Some carriers, including Australia Post and Canada Post, have implemented new capabilities in a bid to resume U.S. shipments. These services are leveraging qualified third parties like customs compliance provider Zonos to collect and remit duties directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
