FAQ: Impact of recent US customs regulation changes on international postal services
1. What is the status of postal disruptions following the implementation, on 29 August 2025, of the United States of America’s Executive Order 14324 of 30 July 2025?
So far, the UPU has received confirmation from 88 postal operators that they have suspended services to the United States. A full list is provided at the end of this FAQ.
According to UPU data collected at item level, we saw an 81% decrease in postal traffic to the United States on Friday 29 August compared to the previous Friday, 22 August.
To provide some more context, over the past 12 months, inbound traffic to the US from all categories of mail comprised 15% of global postal traffic. During this time 44% of traffic came from Europe, 30% from Asia, and 26% from the rest of the world.
While these percentages cover all categories of mail, the majority of these figures was likely to be small packets – the international mail product most often used for e-commerce goods.
2. Why are the changes to the US duty-free exempt de minimis threshold posing operational disruptions to international postal services?
This regulatory change, for the first time in a UPU member country, seeks to place the burden of customs duty collection and remittance on the transportation carrier or a US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) qualified party. Until 29 August 2025, items under 800 USD could benefit from a customs duty exemption. Today, those duties must be collected and remitted to the CBP before the item arrives in the US. However, transportation carriers have signaled that they are unwilling or unable to bear this responsibility. Furthermore, neither party has direct contact with senders or recipients.
In that context, postal operators of origin are currently determining how they might assume the function of providing a direct link with customers to collect the required duties; the UPU is working to support them in that effort.
Accordingly, the UPU has been in the process of developing a delivered duty paid (DDP) solution and is accelerating the development of such a solution with its member countries and their postal operators. Once implemented, this solution would enable postal operators to collect duties at origin and, in the specific context of the US, to transmit them to CBP via a CBP qualified party.
3. How will this impact customers?
Until suspensions are lifted, customers sending postal items to or receiving postal items in the US from abroad may expect delays.
Bottlenecks associated with more low-value items needing to clear customs, as well as increased handling costs in addition to the duty charges, are likely to make items sent to the US more expensive for customers.
4. How is the UPU helping to alleviate operational disruptions to the international postal network?
As the United Nations specialized agency responsible for international postal cooperation, the UPU is supporting its members on two key fronts – dialogue and technical solutions.
Firstly, the UPU provides an unparalleled forum for the entire international postal network to discuss such changes and their impact. More specifically, the UPU secretariat has received messages of concern from member countries across the network and subsequently communicated, on 25 August 2025, those concerns to the US in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This letter also affirmed the UPU’s readiness to collaborate with US authorities through technical consultations, transitional arrangements, pilot testing, and the use of UPU systems and standards to support smooth implementation of this update to US domestic customs regulations. Additionally, the UPU organized an informational meeting for all member countries in order for the US to provide more clarity on the new rules, and address questions from concerned members.
Secondly, the UPU is a provider of universal, affordable solutions for the postal network. While the organization had already been working on a DDP solution, it has now accelerated that work in partnership with relevant parties and in consultation with various member countries. This solution will be able to calculate duty charges and inform shippers; collect customs duties at origin; ensure data collected is aligned with CPB requirements (as well as similar requirements established by other member countries); consolidate payments and remit them through either the UPU’s existing settlement systems, or to a third party where required.
As of 5 September, the UPU has already started deploying the solution, starting with an application programming interface (API) enabling postal operators to calculate and collect the required duties from customers at origin. The UPU will support postal operators with the roll out of this complete solution, including the adaptation of internal procedures and training postal staff. Further updates on the DDP solution can be found on this page: https://www.upu.int/DDP
5. What are the UPU's rules on implementing such a change?
The Acts of the UPU safeguard the sovereign right of member countries to adopt customs policies consistent with their national interests and legislation. The US, through its executive order of 30 July 2025, has exercised that right.
Nevertheless, ensuring that people around the globe have access to efficient international postal services of quality is an intrinsic element of the UPU’s mission and scope. Given current disruptions to global postal services, the UPU has the responsibility and capacity to help facilitate dialogue and solutions to get the mail moving again and is doing its utmost to do so.
6. Was the UPU consulted before this change was announced?
The US had no obligation to consult the UPU on this change and did not do so before publication of its Executive Order.
Notwithstanding the above, the UPU is in active discussions with the US regarding concerns flagged by other member countries. As previously noted, the UPU sent on 25 August 2025 a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in which the organization outlined the main concerns raised by member countries. In addition, the UPU has recently organized an information session on such changes.
7. Is it legal for UPU member countries to suspend traffic to another UPU member country?
As per the relevant provisions of the Acts of the UPU (notably the Regulations to the Universal Postal Convention), member countries may exceptionally suspend postal services/traffic to other member countries, subject to due and timely notification of such a suspension to other member countries through the UPU secretariat.
8. Does the change - and any associated mail stoppages - undermine the universal postal service?
As noted above, such changes may indeed lead to disruptions in the operation of international postal services, thus potentially impacting, to some extent, the implementation of universal service obligations by member countries (particularly in terms of the accessibility and affordability of basic international postal services), as well as postal trade flows involving developing countries.