Australia Post has temporarily suspended multiple forms of postage to the United States due to import tariff rules introduced by Donald Trump.
The move is effective from Wednesday and will remain in place until further notice, the statement said on Tuesday.
‘Australia Post is focused on providing a reliable and competitive postal service for customers sending parcels internationally,’ executive Gary Starr said.
‘Guidance from (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.
‘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.’
The action is in response to the Trump government’s significant changes to customs and import tariff rules for parcels sent to the US.
This includes the suspension of the ‘De Minimis exemption’ for inbound goods, items costing below US$800 ($1,230), as well as those requiring the pre-payment of tariffs prior to an item’s arrival in the US.
The temporary suspension will impact Business Contract, MyPost Business and Retail customers sending goods through the postal network.
Australia Post has suspended some postage methods to the United States (stock image)
Australia Post said it made the decision after import tariff rules introduced by Donald Trump
Gifts under US$100 ($153), letters and documents will be unaffected by this change.
The temporary partial suspension also includes postage to Puerto Rico as it is under US Customs territory and has also been impacted by these tariff changes.
Items sent to the US and Puerto Rico lodged on or after Wednesday, August 26, will not be accepted by Australia Post until further notice.
The dramatic move is in line with action taken by other postal operators across the world.
Last week, New Zealand Post said it was temporarily suspending parcel shipping to the US, and would only carry letters and documents until further notice.
In Europe, the UK’s Royal Mail, France’s La Poste, Germany’s Deutsche Post, Spain’s Correos and Poste Italiane have stopped most shipments to the US over the weekend.
There have also been similar changes among Belgian, Swedish and Danish postal services.
Postal services group DHL, which is based in Germany, also said it would temporarily suspend the acceptance and transport of business customer parcels via the postal network to the US.
It will not accept items sent to the US lodged on or after Wednesday until further notice
But it said shipping through DHL Express would remain possible.
For Australia Post, the decision comes just a day after the company announced it would hire 3,500 seasonal team members ahead of the busy Christmas period.
Until the announcement, parcels of goods worth less than $US800 ($1,230) were not taxed when they reached the US.
But this exemption is due to end on August 29 for imports from all countries and will mean low-value parcels will be slapped with tariffs or flat fees.
Australian customers seeking an update can check the Australia Post website or call 13 POST (13 7678).
