Australia Post has suspended parcel deliveries to the United States and Puerto Rico after sweeping changes to American import tariffs and customs rules.
From Tuesday, customers will be unable to send most parcels to the US as new rules introduced under President Donald Trump remove the De Minimis exemption on goods under $US800 ($1233) and require tariffs to be prepaid before entry.
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The suspension affects Business Contract, MyPost Business and retail customers, though letters, documents and gifts worth less than $US100 will still be accepted.
Australia Post’s Executive General Manager for parcels and post, Gary Starr, said that the sudden change had left postal providers frustrated.
“Guidance from CBP (US Customs and Border Protection) has only recently been issued and, like more than 190 other postal providers, we’ve been working at pace to find a solution,” Starr said.
The agency said it regretted the move but had little choice: “We are disappointed we have had to take this action, however, due to the complex and rapidly evolving situation, a temporary partial suspension has been necessary to allow us to develop and implement a workable solution for our customers.”
Work is underway with US-authorised customs broker Zonos to restore services, while the federal government has condemned the new tariffs and pledged to help limit disruption.
Postal agencies in Britain, France, Denmark, Belgium, India and New Zealand have also suspended US services.
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