The Universal Postal Union (UPU) announced on Saturday that postal traffic to the United States has plummeted by more than 80% after Washington imposed new tariffs. As a result, 88 operators worldwide have fully or partially suspended their services.
The UPU, a United Nations postal cooperation agency, is working on “the rapid development of a new technical solution that will help get mail moving to the United States again,” said its director general, Masahiko Metoki, in a statement. The US President Donald Trump’s administration had announced in late July that it was eliminating a tax exemption on small packages entering the United States, effective August 29. This move triggered a wave of announcements from postal services, including those in Australia, Britain, France, Germany, India, Italy, and Japan, stating that most US-bound packages would no longer be accepted.
The UPU reported that data exchanged through its systems showed that traffic to the US was down 81% on August 29 compared to the week prior. It added, “Furthermore, 88 postal operators informed the UPU they have suspended some or all postal services to the US until a solution is implemented.” These operators included those from 78 UN member states—including two in Bosnia and Herzegovina—and nine other territories like Macau and the Cook Islands.
A New System Is Coming
The US changes shift the responsibility of collecting and remitting customs duties to transport carriers or “qualified parties” approved by the US Customs and Border Protection agency. The UPU explained that “carriers, such as airlines, signaled they were unwilling or unable to bear this responsibility,” while postal operators had not yet established links to those approved parties, which “caused major operational disruptions.”
The UN agency stated it is working on a “Delivered Duty Paid” solution, which will soon be integrated into its customs declaration platform. This system will allow postal operators “to calculate and collect the required duties from customers at origin,” the agency said. In the meantime, the UPU noted that as of Friday, postal operators could access a calculator via a software interface that can be integrated into their retail and counter systems.
A Letter Sent
Metoki has written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to convey member countries’ concerns about the sudden disruption. UPU figures show that over the past 12 months, inbound traffic to the US from all mail categories made up 15% of global postal traffic. Of that amount, 44% came from Europe, 30% from Asia, and 26% from the rest of the world. The UPU said the majority of this traffic was likely small packages, the international mail product most often used for e-commerce goods. Based in Bern, Switzerland, the UPU was established in 1874 and has 192 member states. It sets the rules for international mail exchanges and provides recommendations to improve services.
