- Japan Post will suspend shipping small packages to the US due to new tariffs imposed by the US government
- Parcels with consumer goods or gifts over $100 will no longer be accepted from Wednesday
- The US revoked its tariff exemption on lower-value packages globally in a July 30 presidential order
Japan Post Co will suspend shipping of some small packages to the United States due to fresh tariffs imposed by the US government, in a sign of how President Donald Trump's tariffs may impact smaller businesses and individuals.
The mail service will stop accepting parcels that include consumer goods for sale or gifts worth over $100 from Wednesday, after the US revoked its tariff exemption on lower-value packages from across the world, according to a statement published on its website.
"It is not clear what the appropriate processes for shipping companies and postal services are under the new guidelines, making operations extremely difficult. We will therefore be suspending the acceptance of smaller packages," the statement said.
US consumers were able to buy cheap goods from abroad under what was called the de minimis exemption, which allowed for smaller packages to be shipped into the US duty-free.
That tariff exemption was revoked on May 2 for China and has now also been repealed for the rest of the world in a presidential order signed July 30 with the purpose of preventing the inflow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl.
Japan Post's decision falls in line with other national postal services that have temporarily suspended their shipping services to the US, including Britain and Australia. For now, Japan Post will continue providing a separate service for deliveries to the US that complies with US customs rules, albeit at significantly higher costs.
A recent survey on commerce website eBay users found that fashion items, collector goods, including trading cards, as well as auto parts, were among the Japanese items that sold well in the US, according to a report by Japanese trading organisation JETRO.
The same survey showed that more than 80% of respondents were considering entering markets other than the US as a response to American tariff measures.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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