Overview

• The exemption ended at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, with a six-month option for postal carriers to apply flat duties of $80, $160 or $200 per package before shifting to full value-based collection in early 2026.
• Postal operators in more than two dozen countries have paused or restricted U.S.-bound parcels, and the Universal Postal Union has pressed Washington for time and technical guidance in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
• Mexico’s national post suspended package shipments to the U.S. pending talks, joining posts across Europe as well as Japan, Australia, India, Taiwan and others that announced temporary halts or limits.
• Letters, gifts up to $100 and up to $200 in personal souvenirs remain duty-free, while other low-value goods must clear customs at origin-based tariff rates that can range roughly from 10% to 50% if the flat-fee option is not used.
• The White House cites fentanyl trafficking and tariff evasion as the rationale; U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded about 1.36 billion de minimis parcels valued at $64.6 billion in 2024, and marketplaces report cancellations as sellers seek costlier private carriers with duty-collection systems.