Chunghwa Post suspends small parcel services to U.S. due to tariffs

Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) Taiwan's Chunghwa Post will suspend the shipment of small parcels to the United States starting Tuesday due to the expiration of a tariff exemption, the state-owned postal company announced Monday.

Chunghwa Post said it will stop accepting for shipment to the U.S. all EMS (express mail service) packages, international parcel posts, ePackets, international registered small packages, and international ordinary small packages under its service provisions.

The suspension was initiated in response to the U.S. government's announcement that the so-called "Duty-Free de minimis Treatment" will expire on Aug. 29.

The policy originally exempted customs duties on U.S.-bound mailed items, including goods, that were valued at US$800 or below, Chunghwa Post said.

Following the suspension of the arrangement, all mail carriers are required to remit duties to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Only when that happens, will packages be cleared for the United States Postal Service (USPS) for subsequent delivery.

The suspension meant that customs duties would have to be first collected from senders of the parcels, Chunghwa Post said, which meant it had to suspend the service because it had no way to collect duties from senders in advance or have carriers help pay the duties first.

Chunghwa Post said, however, that it will continue EMS document services and will still accept letters, postcards, aerogrammes, printed materials and newspapers for delivery to U.S. addresses.

Customers who wish to send packages to the U.S. can still employ the services of other logistics companies such as DHL and FedEx, Chunghwa Post said.

According to the company's statistics, Taiwan sent approximately 340,000 packages to the U.S. in 2024 alone.

Most of the packages sent in 2024 were valued at US$800 and below, and were sent from Taiwanese customers to friends and relatives in the U.S. who benefitted from the "Duty-Free de minimis Treatment," the company said.