The #1 Way Tariffs Are Affecting Your Mail, Says the USPS

The past few years have been relatively rocky for the U.S. Postal Service. From service changes to increased theft, the agency has struggled to overcome issues amid budget cuts and a sudden change in leadership. Of course, most customers are still concerned that the service could choose to raise prices, which is especially concerning as looming tariffs put into place by President Donald Trump threaten to raise costs on items ranging from coffee to cars. But will this change the way you send and receive packages? Now that a few notable deadlines have passed, experts say tariffs are already affecting your mail in some significant ways.

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A policy change has nearly ceased incoming international mail.

A new economic reality appears to be settling in. According to the United Nations’ Universal Postal Union (UPU), inbound mail and packages on their way to the U.S. dropped 81 percent after Aug. 29 compared to the previous week, NPR reports. The drastic shift came within 24 hours of Trump’s suspension of the longstanding “de minimis” exemption for parcels that waived tariffs on any items entering the country valued at less than $800.

The change comes less than a month after Trump issued an executive order on July 30 pausing the import rule. Now, all items entering the U.S. will be subject to extra fees that vary depending on which country they’re arriving from. Tariff rates range from 10 percent for countries such as the U.K., Australia, and Chile; 25 percent for Mexico; 30 percent for China; 35 percent for Canada; and up to 50 percent for Brazil, among many others, per the BBC.

Global postal operators are pulling back from sending items stateside.

The hastiness of the changes has created confusion among couriers and logistical companies, including airlines that have said they cannot afford to take on the sudden extra costs. But even traditional shipping is being affected, with the UPU saying that 88 postal operators around the world had notified the agency they were halting “some or all postal services to the U.S. until a solution is implemented.”

This drastic change underscores the importance of the flow of cheap goods into the country and has created an impetus to get things back up and moving.

“The UPU has in its mission the responsibility to guarantee the free circulation of postal items over a single postal territory. We’re working to uphold that responsibility with the rapid development of a new technical solution that will help get mail moving to the United States again,” Masahiko Metoki, director general for the UPU, said in a statement.

RELATED: USPS Warns Mail Theft Is Rising—5 Ways to Protect Yourself.

Many imported items could become more expensive in the future.

To do this, the agency says it plans to integrate its existing Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) system into its Customs Declaration System (CDS), which will allow global postal operators to eventually address the issue. However, the new rules will upend the affordable import loophole that has made online discount retailers like Shein and Temu feasible, NPR reports.

In response, the White House cast blame on foreign postal services that it said had failed to inspect parcels that could contain counterfeit products or drugs properly, Axios reports.

“For too long, this loophole handed criminal networks a free pass to flood America with fentanyl, fake goods, and illegal shipments. Those days are over. We are securing the border, restoring fairness to trade, and protecting American families,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner (USBCP) Rodney Scott said in a statement issued on August 29.

There could still be some positive side effects.

Now, with the busy holiday shopping season approaching, entire shopping strategies may need to be reconsidered to stay within budget. But while it may make items more expensive, some advocates say the suspension of de minimis rules could bring some benefits.

“It’s created significant product safety concerns because low-value imports are facing minimal customs inspection, making it easier for unsafe or noncompliant product to enter the U.S. market,” Courtney Griffin, director of consumer product safety for the Consumer Federation of America, told NPR.

Besides aiming to buy domestically, Griffin adds that shoppers should be more aware of changes to shipping and return policies for online retailers they’ve frequented in the past.