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| French Customs officers control postal parcels in the Customs area of the postal customs clearance office located in the sorting centre of La Poste, near Orly airport, South of Paris on March 20, 2025. — AFP |
Global Postal Traffic to US Collapses After New Tariffs
French Customs officers
control postal parcels in the Customs area of the postal customs clearance
office located in the sorting centre of La Poste, near Orly airport, South of
Paris on March 20, 2025. — AFPPostal traffic to the United States plunged more
than 80% following...
Postal deliveries to the United
States have plunged by more than 80% after Washington imposed new tariffs,
the Universal Postal Union (UPU) revealed on Saturday. According to the
UN’s international postal cooperation body, as many as 88 postal operators
worldwide have either fully or partially suspended services to the US.
Masahiko Metoki, the UPU’s director
general, said the agency was working on “the rapid development of a new
technical solution that will help get mail moving to the United States again.”
The crisis was triggered after President Donald Trump’s administration abolished a long-standing tax exemption on small international packages, effective August 29. The exemption had previously allowed small e-commerce parcels to enter the country without duties.
Disruptions Across
the Globe
The decision led to immediate upheaval.
Postal services in major countries—including Australia, Britain, France,
Germany, India, Italy, and Japan—announced they would stop accepting most
US-bound parcels.
UPU data confirmed that traffic to the US fell by 81% on August 29, compared with the week prior. The organization added that postal operators in 78 UN member states—along with nine territories such as Macau and the Cook Islands—have suspended some or all shipments to America.
Why Mail Has Stalled
The rule change shifts the
responsibility of collecting and remitting customs duties onto carriers
or “qualified parties” approved by the US Customs and Border Protection
agency. Airlines and other transport carriers have signaled they cannot
take on this role, while postal operators are still unable to connect to
approved intermediaries.
The result has been major operational disruptions, effectively halting much of the global mail flow into the US.
UPU’s Proposed Fix
In response, the UPU is racing to
implement a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) system, which would allow postal
operators to calculate and collect duties directly from customers in their home
countries. This would ensure parcels meet US requirements before being shipped.
For now, the UPU has rolled out a
software tool that provides postal operators with a calculator for duties,
which can be integrated into retail and counter systems.
Metoki has also written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, outlining member states’ concerns about the disruption and its impact on global commerce.
The Stakes for Global
Trade
According to UPU figures, inbound mail
to the US made up 15% of global postal traffic over the past year. Of
this, 44% originated from Europe, 30% from Asia, and 26% from other regions.
Much of this traffic consists of small
parcels—the backbone of international e-commerce, where businesses rely
heavily on affordable, fast shipping for consumer goods.
Based in Bern, Switzerland, the
UPU was founded in 1874 and now includes 192 member states. It
sets global rules for international mail exchange and works to modernize and
streamline postal services worldwide.