United States Enforces Short-Term Limits on Mail Deliveries to the US for Both Personal and Business Clients (Regarding New Customs Policies)

The U.S. Executive Order "Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for all Countries" has brought significant changes to postal parcel shipping to the United States for all postal and courier service providers.

Starting from August 29, 2025, all imports, except purely private shipments of gifts with a value under $100, will be subject to customs duties. This regulation applies to the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Parcels and packages containing only gifts from private individuals to private individuals with a value up to $100, which are declared as 'gifts,' are not affected by the Executive Order. However, these shipments will be subject to even stricter controls than before to prevent the misuse of private gift shipments to send commercial goods.

Commercial clearance, such as that offered by DHL Express, remains available to customers. However, the previous duty-free threshold is being eliminated, and all commercially cleared shipments, including those with a value under $100, are subject to customs clearance. The goods are declared for shipment with DHL Express by DHL as the customs agent in the USA. The payment of any duties is made according to the "Incoterm" (International Commercial Terms) agreed between the sender and recipient.

DHL is closely monitoring further developments and is in contact with U.S. authorities and its European partners. The company's goal is to resume postal goods shipping to the U.S. as quickly as possible. After August 22, Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany will temporarily halt the acceptance and transport of business customer parcels via the postal network to the U.S. due to new customs regulations.

The national postal and customs authorities directly contacted by DHL Group to clarify the impact of the provisional restrictions on mailing goods to the USA and to achieve the resumption of shipments as soon as possible are the US Postal Service (USPS) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The changes to the process outlined in the Executive Order affect postal and commercial clearance differently. The transport and import of postal shipments are handled by national postal companies that have special agreements with customs authorities and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

It's important to note that the Executive Order affects all postal and courier service providers worldwide, many of whom have already announced a suspension of postal shipping to the U.S. The Association of European Postal Services - PostEurop - has communicated that its member companies will need to temporarily restrict or suspend the shipping of goods through postal networks to the U.S. in accordance with the relevant national authorities.

Shipping via DHL Express continues to be possible for private customer parcels with a value over $100 USD. However, these shipments will be subject to stricter controls to prevent the misuse of private gift shipments for commercial goods.

In summary, the new U.S. Executive Order will bring changes to postal and commercial clearance, with all imports subject to customs duties, except for private shipments of gifts with a value under $100. Service providers are working closely with U.S. authorities to resume postal goods shipping to the U.S. as quickly as possible.

United States Enforces Short-Term Limits on Mail Deliveries to the US for Both Personal and Business Clients (Regarding New Customs Policies)