BERN, Switzerland, 6th September, 2025 (WAM) – The Universal Postal Union (UPU) – the UN specialised agency for global postal cooperation – has started deploying a solution to help postal operators resume delivery to the United States after postal traffic to the country dipped more than 80% following its suspension of the duty-free de minimis exemption, effective 29 August.
“The UPU has in its mission the responsibility to guarantee the free circulation of postal items over a single postal territory. We’re working to uphold that responsibility with the rapid development of a new technical solution that will help get mail moving to the United States again,” said UPU Director General Masahiko Metoki.
As of 5 September, postal operators can access a landed-cost calculator via an application programming interface (API) that can be plugged into their retail and counter solutions. The solution enables posts to calculate and collect the required duties from customers at origin.
The UPU will support postal operators with the roll out of this complete solution, including adapting their internal procedures and training postal staff.
The data, exchanged between postal operators via the UPU’s electronic network, shows that traffic from UPU member countries to the US was down 81% on Friday 29 August – the day the regulation was implemented – compared to the previous Friday, 22 August.
Furthermore, 88 postal operators informed the UPU they have suspended some or all postal services to the US until a solution is implemented, highlighting the widespread impact of the US Executive Order eliminating the de minimis exemption for low-value goods.