New tariff rules are being imposed on packages mailed to the United States from around the world as of today, Friday, August 29.
The longstanding non-imposition of customs duties on packages containing contents less than $800 in value has been scrapped.
The move by the Trump administration has reportedly resulted in the suspension of "billions" of packages destined for the United States from countries around the world.
By way of example, Australia Post announced a temporary suspension of small parcel shipments to the United States, this in response to the U.S. ending the so called "de minimis" tariff threshold.
The ending of de minimis is already causing widespread disruption and cost increases globally.
But the Irish postal service, an Post, is trying to keep the parcels moving in the face of it all.
In response to an inquiry from the Echo, An Post outlined what it now faces in the shipping of packages to the U.S. and what it is trying to do to minimize the absence of de minimis.
Parcels with contents less than $800 in value going through the postal service from Ireland, the rest of Europe and the world, to the U.S., have traditionally been exempt from taxes.
An Post, like postal services and parcel delivery services globally are facing into a situation where the Trump administration has implemented an end to that exemption for everything except gifts with a value not above $85 /€100.
Taxes must be paid on everything else before arrival in the U.S. The U.S. is not providing any systems or supports to facilitate these advance payments.
As a result, many European postal services are simply stopping parcel services to the U.S. - at least until they figure out a solution.
An Post says it is determined to maintain services and is working on a solution for Irish businesses.
Said a spokesperson: "The US is an important market and we are hugely conscious of the strong links between family and friends across the Atlantic. It is important to emphasise that letters, documents and gifts of a value less than €100 from Ireland to the U.S. will not be affected."
A statement from An Post reads: "An Post has put in place a solution to support Irish businesses and citizens posting parcels into the United States from this Friday, 29th August.
"Following a directive from the US government, all parcels originating in Europe and containing goods, must have taxes paid on those goods before they can the US. The long-standing ‘de minimis’ allowance for contents (goods) less than $800 in value will no longer apply from 29th August.
"The only exceptions to this new ruling are traditional letters, documents and parcels containing gifts valued at less than €85/$100.
"In response to this directive, many European postal carriers are planning to cease all parcel services to the US, at least temporarily, and to avoid a chaotic situation in which the US administration is not providing any systems or support to assist European carriers in the collection of taxes.
"Conscious of the importance of keeping trade links with the US open for Irish businesses, and the strong family connections between Ireland and the US, An Post has developed a solution which will enable receiving customers in the US to be advised of taxes owing on goods in transit to them, and to pay those taxes securely and speedily so that that the goods can be shipped to the US and delivered to them. An Post will be working with a trusted partner in the US to provide this service."
Garrett Bridgeman, Managing Director of An Post Mails & Parcels stated: “Strong personal and business links between Ireland and the US have been built over generations, and it is a important market for many Irish firms who use the postal system to sell into America.
"This situation is not of our making, but rather than simply switch off services and leave customers high and dry, we’ve put a solution in place. We in An Post have built up considerable expertise in supporting customers deal with the complexities of EU customs and Brexit. We’ll do all we can to support customers deal with these US tariffs and get their parcels through to customers, families and friends.”
The An Post statement poses a question: "What does this US directive mean for An Post customers from Friday 29th August?"
The answer is as follows: "For customers sending letters / documents only, there is no change. These will continue to be delivered as normal.
"For customers sending gifts of $100 dollars or less (€85) – there is no change. These will continue to be delivered as normal provided the necessary documentation is completed at the Post Office or at anpost.com/USA.
"For customers sending gifts with a value over $100 – taxes will be determined by the value and origin of the goods being posted, and must be paid by the receiving customer before the item leaves Ireland. Details of next steps at anpost.com/USA.
"For businesses posting ecommerce goods of any value, taxes will be determined by the value and origin of the goods being posted, and must be paid by the receiving customer before the item leaves Ireland. They will continue to use An Post’s existing data capture systems, and will provide additional contact details for their receiving customers in the US More details and support are available at an post.com/USA
There will be no Registered Post service available for items containing goods from Ireland to the US after 29th August.
"Business customers posting ecommerce items to the US, or personal customers posting a gift with a value more than €85 ($100) will have to capture the email/phone number of the US recipient / buyer and advise those customers of their requirement to pay taxes on the item. An Post’s US partner will contactanpost.com/USA the customer to collect the payment securely. Once those payments have been received, An Post will forward payments and data to the US administration so that items can be shipped from Ireland to the US.
"Business customers should continue to complete all necessary electronic data capture for the USA as they have been doing for some years now. Should receiving US customers choose not to pay the taxes due, the item(s) will be returned by An Post to the Irish sender."
Customers can find out more at anpost.com/USA
