![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2010-03-24T120000Z_1037590234_GM1E63O0QTK01_RTRMADP_3_JAPAN-MARKETS-JAPANPOST-1756187282.jpg\")
A woman leaves a branch of postal service operator Japan Post in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, Japan [File: Yuriko Nakao\/Reuters]<\/p>\nAustralia and Japan latest countries to stop some postal services to US for goods valued at less than $800.<\/p>\n
Australia and Japan have joined a growing list of countries suspending some parcel shipments to the United States after US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration ended an exemption that allowed packages valued at less than $800 to enter the country duty-free.<\/p>\n
With the \u201cde minimis\u201d exemption set to end on Friday, Australia Post announced that it was implementing \u201ca temporary partial suspension\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Tuesday, Australia Post said it was \u201cdisappointed\u201d but the decision was necessary \u201cdue to the complex and rapidly evolving situation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Packages sent to the US and Puerto Rico lodged on or after Tuesday will not be accepted until further notice, the postal service said. Gifts valued at less than $100, letters and documents are unaffected by the change.<\/p>\n
Australia Post said it would continue to work with the US and Australian authorities and international postal partners to resume services to the US soon.<\/p>\n
Japan Post made a similar announcement on Monday, saying the suspension of some parcel shipments was necessary.<\/p>\n
The procedures for transport and postal operators were \u201cnot clear\u201d, which is \u201cmaking implementation difficult\u201d, Japan Post said.<\/p>\n
A woman leaves a branch of postal service operator Japan Post in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, Japan [File: Yuriko Nakao\/Reuters]<\/p>\n
Australian public broadcaster ABC said some businesses that make products in Australia have already suspended shipments, with Australian shipping software company Shippit saying it had seen a decline in shipments from Australia to the US even before the new changes came into effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been a 36 percent drop in volume since April in terms of outbound shipments from Australia to the US,\u201d Shippit\u2019s chief executive, Rob Hango-Zada, said, according to the ABC.<\/p>\n
The announcements from Australia and Japan come after several European postal services announced similar changes last week, including Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, France, Austria and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s Royal Mail said it would halt shipments to the US beginning on Tuesday to allow time for those packages to arrive before new duties kick in.<\/p>\n
\u201cKey questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out,\u201d DHL, the largest shipping provider in Europe, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has announced a rolling wave of tariffs, or taxes paid on goods imported into the US.<\/p>\n
The changing nature of Trump\u2019s tariffs<\/a>, which vary from country to country and are different in some cases depending on which products are being imported, has added to the confusion for postal services.<\/p>\n