In August 2025, the United States announced the cancellation of duty-free treatment for imported packages under $800 starting from August 29th, and imposed an additional 15% tariff on packages sent from the European Union to the United States. This policy change is like a heavy bomb, causing a huge uproar in the global cross-border logistics field, and the postal systems of many European countries are at the forefront, falling into chaos.
The policy shock wave quickly spread from Western Europe to Northern and Central Eastern Europe. Starting from August 25th, France will suspend all parcel services for goods sent to the United States, and only retain a private gift channel for items under 100 euros; German logistics giant DHL has suspended the transportation of commercial goods and some private packages through postal channels; Starting from August 26th, the UK will suspend related services, and customs clearance processing fees will be charged after the transition period; On August 23rd, Italy stopped accepting all commodity packages and only provided high priced express delivery services. The situation in Nordic and Central and Eastern European countries is also not optimistic. Finland suspended all related services as early as August 19th, Nordic Post stopped receiving mail containing goods from the United States and Puerto Rico, and Slovenia suspended all mail and parcel services to the United States from August 22nd.
There are many ambiguities in the new policy of the United States, such as unclear details of tariff collection, declaration information requirements, and communication methods with postal services of various countries. In addition, the lack of technical systems to support the new policy within the framework of the Universal Postal Union has led to the suspension of mail transportation by cooperative air carriers, resulting in a weak response of the European postal system. For cross-border sellers, this means an increase in tariff costs, package backlog, rising warehousing fees, and increased risk of goods being rejected or returned, facing a severe test of life and death.