Postal visitors to US drops greater than 80% after commerce exemption rule ends, UN company says : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1024x632+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F63%2F8d%2F5759c8bb45a88406f015dc21f659%2Fgettyimages-2168105131.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1024x632+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F63%2F8d%2F5759c8bb45a88406f015dc21f659%2Fgettyimages-2168105131.jpg" class="img" alt="U.S. Postal Service (USPS) trucks are parked at a post office on Aug. 23, 2024 in Los Angeles, California." fetchpriority="high"/> U.S. Postal Service (USPS) vans are parked at a publish workplace on Aug. 23, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama/Getty Photos cover caption

toggle caption

Mario Tama/Getty Photos Postal visitors to the U.S. has fallen considerably after the Trump administration suspended a commerce exemption rule in late August, in accordance with a worldwide postal union.

The U.N.'s Common Postal Union (UPU) stated the worldwide postal community noticed postal visitors enroute to the U.S. "come to a close to halt" after Aug. 29, 2025, when the "de minimis" commerce exemption that allowed small packages price lower than $800 to be exempt from tariffs ended. Information between postal operators exhibits that visitors dropped 81% on Aug. 29 in comparison with per week earlier, the union stated. The UPU additionally stated it's engaged on methods to get visitors flowing again to the nation.

"The UPU has in its mission the accountability to ensure the free circulation of postal objects over a single postal territory. We're working to uphold that accountability with the fast growth of a brand new technical answer that may assist get mail transferring to america once more," UPU Director Basic Masahiko Metoki stated in an announcement.

NPR reached out to the White Home for touch upon Sunday however has not obtained a response.

On July 30 this yr, President Donald Trump signed an government order that may droop the de minimis rule for all U.S. imports, with all merchandise coming into the U.S. being tacked with duties and tariffs in accordance with their nation of origin. The Trump administration has defended the transfer as a strategy to crack down on felony exercise, akin to counterfeit merchandise and fentanyl, from getting into the nation, in addition to serving to to decrease the commerce deficit.

"For too lengthy, this loophole handed felony networks a free cross to flood America with fentanyl, faux items, and unlawful shipments. These days are over. We're securing the border, restoring equity to commerce, and defending American households," U.S. Customs and Border Safety Commissioner Rodney Scott stated in an announcement late final month.