Postal Traffic to US Still Down 70% Five Weeks After Duties Exemption on Low-Value Packages Ended

Postal traffic to the U.S. remains down about 70% five weeks after the end of the “de minimis” exemption. The United Nations postal agency reported this on Friday. The exemption had spared low-value packages from duties and taxes. Since the U.S. ended the tariff exemption for packages worth less than $800, confusion has reigned. In September, the Universal Postal Union reported that 88 of its 192 member countries had suspended all or some postal services to the U.S. to adjust their shipping procedures. On Friday, the UPU said “only a handful” of those had resumed operations to the U.S.