Due to the new customs regulations in accordance with the Executive Order "Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for all Countries", which apply from August 29, 2025, there will be temporary restrictions on postal goods shipments to the USA for private and business customers at Deutsche Post and DHL Paket. As of August 22, Deutsche Post and DHL Paket will for the time being no longer be able to receive and transport packages and Warenpost International from business customers to the USA, the DHL Group announced in a press release on August 22. The reason for the expected temporary restrictions are new processes for postal dispatch demanded by U.S. authorities that depart from the previously applicable regulations. Key questions, according to DHL Group, remain unresolved, in particular how and by whom customs duties will be levied in the future, what additional data are required, and how the data transmission to the American customs authority (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) should take place.
Not affected by the Executive Order are packages from private individuals to private individuals with a value of up to 100
US dollars, declared as “gift.” However, these shipments will be subject to even tighter controls than before in order to prevent abuse of private gift shipments for the shipment of commercial goods. For sending documents in letters, there is likewise no change according to the KEP service provider. It remains also possible to ship goods via DHL Express and commercial import of goods into the USA under applying the currently applicable customs duty rates. These rates also apply to private customer packages with a value over 100 US dollars.
According to DHL Group, these changes affect all postal and parcel service providers worldwide, many of whom have already announced a suspension of postal shipments to the USA. The Association of European Postal Operators – PostEurop – has also already communicated that its member companies, in accordance with the competent national authorities, will need to temporarily restrict or suspend shipments of goods through the postal networks to the USA.
The process changes of the Executive Order affect postal and commercial customs clearance in different ways: The transport and import of postal consignments is
carried out by national postal operators that have special agreements with the customs authorities and the United States Postal Service (USPS). The postal customs clearance process is usually simpler and cheaper. The basis for postal customs clearance is the Universal Postal Union Convention. This path for the import of shipments is now no longer available for commercial shipments and any shipments with a value over 100 US dollars.
Commercial customs clearance, as offered for example by DHL Express, remains available to customers. However, the previous duty-free threshold (so-called “De Minimis”) also falls away here. All commercially cleared shipments, including those with a value under 100 US dollars, are subject to customs clearance. For goods from Germany or the European Union, the duty rate is expected to be 15 percent of the value of the goods – some product groups may also be subject to higher duties. This mode of clearance primarily concerns business traffic and is often carried out by specialized customs brokers. Commercial shipments are subject to stricter requirements, particularly regarding the description, the classification and the proof of value of
the goods, and other controls.
The declaration of the goods for shipment with DHL Express is performed by DHL as the customs clearance agent in the USA. Payment of the due duties is made in accordance with the Incoterms agreed between the consignor and the recipient. There it is specified who is responsible for the costs and risks during the transport of the goods – and precisely who is responsible for the customs clearance.
Until the effective date of the Executive Order, the current rule for shipments from the European Union remains that goods with a low value (up to 800 US dollars) can be imported into the USA duty-free. With the changes, all imports, except purely private shipments with gifts valued at under 100 US dollars, will be subject to customs duties as of August 29, 2025. The regulations apply to the USA and Puerto Rico.
DHL is monitoring the developments very closely and is—together with its European partners—in contact with the US authorities. The company's aim is to resume postal shipments of goods to the USA as quickly as possible.
