GENEVA: Postal traffic to the United States (US) has plunged by 81 per cent after Washington’s suspension of tariff exemptions for low-value imports, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) said on Saturday, reported Xinhua.
The UPU said that data shared among postal operators via its electronic network showed traffic from its member countries to the US was down 81 per cent on Aug 29 compared with a week earlier.
“Furthermore, 88 postal operators informed the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal services to the US until a solution is found,” the UPU, a UN specialised agency for the postal sector with 192 member countries, said in a statement.
The UPU is working on “the rapid development of a new technical solution that will help get mail moving to the US again,” said UPU Director General Masahiko Metoki.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 30, ending the long-standing “de minimis” exemption rule, which allowed goods worth less than US$800 to enter duty-free, starting Aug 29.
Postal traffic to the US came to a near halt after the implementation of the new rules, which for the first time placed the burden of customs duty collection and remittance on transportation carriers or qualified parties approved by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), said the UPU.
The statement said airlines and other carriers indicated they were unwilling or unable to take on this responsibility, while postal operators had yet to connect to the list of CBP-approved parties, resulting in major operational disruptions. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
