Athens, Greece (AP) – multiple postal services across Europe announced on Saturday that they suspended many packages to the United States in the midst of a lack of clarity on new import rights.
Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy said they would stop sending most goods to the United States with immediate effect. France and Austria will follow on Monday and the United Kingdom on Tuesday.
As part of a decree signed by President Donald Trump last month, international goods that were previously exempt from American prices – those of $ 800 – will be subject to import rights of August 29. Letters, books, gifts and small plots worth less than $ 100 will continue to be exempt.
A commercial framework agreed by the United States and the European Union last month established a rate of 15% on the vast majority of products shipped from the EU.
Many European postal services say they are now stopping deliveries because they cannot guarantee that goods will enter the United States before August 29. They cite the ambiguity of the type of goods covered by the new rules and the lack of time to treat their implications.
From Saturday, Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany said that they “could no longer accept and transport plots and postal items containing goods from commercial customers intended for the United States.”
Postnord, the Nordic Logistics Company and the Italian postal service announced similar suspensions from Saturday.
“In the absence of different instructions from the American authorities … Italiane post will be forced, like other European postal operators, to temporarily suspend the acceptance of all shipments containing goods intended in the United States, from August 23. Mail shipments not containing goods will continue to be accepted,” said Italiane post on Friday.
Shipping by services such as DHL Express remains possible, he added.
Björn Bergman, head of the postnord group and communication, said the break was “unhappy but necessary to ensure the full compliance of the newly implemented rules”.
In the Netherlands, postnl spokesperson Wout said that the Trump administration is progressing with new functions despite the American authorities without a system to collect them. He said Postnl works in close collaboration with his American counterparts to find a solution.
“If you have something to send to America, you should do it today,” Witteveen told the Associated Press.
The Austrian post, the first supply of logistics and posts from Austria, said that the last acceptance of commercial shipments in the United States, including Puerto Rico, will take place on Tuesday.
The national postal service of France, La Poste, said that the United States had not provided all the details or authorized enough time to the French postal service to prepare new customs procedures.
“Despite discussions with American customs services, no time has been given to postal operators to reorganize and ensure the computer updates necessary to comply with the new rules,” he said in a statement.
The Royal Mail in the United Kingdom said it would stop American expeditions on Tuesday “to give time to make these plans arrive before the tasks are triggered.” Articles from the United Kingdom will require a 10% right for articles over $ 100, he said.
Postorop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, said that if no solution can be found on August 29, all of its members would probably follow the step.
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