French, German postal services suspend certain deliveries to US amid imposition of tariffs

In a press statement, La Poste of France said: "On July 30, 2025, the United States of America adopted the executive order 14324 which deeply changes customs procedures for goods shipped to the U.S.A. As from August 29, items containing goods previously exempted from customs duties under the $800 de minimis threshold will now be subject to customs duties from the very first dollar."

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"These duties shall be paid to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency prior to the arrival of before goods in the U.S.A soil," the French postal service further said.

La Poste said, along with other European postal operators, it is actively working to develop solutions to enable both business and individual customers to continue shipping goods to the U.S.A in compliance with the new customs requirements. 

"As a result, if no solutions are found out before the regulation enters into force on August 29, 2025, La Poste—like other European posts —may be forced to temporarily suspend the shipment of items containing goods to the United States of America via postal networks. PostEurop, the association representing 51 European postal operators, has also issued a press release about a potential service disruption," the French postal service said.

DHL, which owns Germany's Deutsche Post service, said there will be temporary restrictions on postal goods shipping to the U.S. for private and business customers in Germany.

"After August 22, Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from business customers destined for the US," the group said.

The group said parcels and packages from individuals to individuals with a value of up to $100, which are declared as 'gift,' 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 for sending commercial goods," read the statement issued by the group.

There are also no changes for the shipping of documents in letters.

Additionally, goods shipping via DHL Express and the commercial import of goods into the U.S. under the currently applicable customs rates will still be possible.

These rates also apply to private customer packages with a value over $100.

The steps have been taken after an Executive Order No. 14324 was issued by the U.S. Administration on July 30, under which the duty-free de minimis exemption for goods valued up to USD 800 will be withdrawn with effect from August 29.

Consequently, all international postal items destined for the USA, regardless of their value, shall be subject to customs duties as per the country-specific International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEEPA) tariff framework. However, gift items up to the value of USD 100 shall continue to remain exempt from duties.