By Nick Newling
Australia Post has suspended shipping most parcels to the United States days before President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariff changes hits low-value items that had been exempt.
Trump signed an executive order last month imposing tariffs on goods worth less than $800 ($1230), beginning on August 29, prompting Australia Post to suspend service on business parcels to the US beginning today and lasting until further notice.
The order means that senders will need to pre-pay the tariffs before their parcels arrive in the US, causing havoc for global postal services that do not have their own technology to collect the money and send it to the US government.
Australia Post is suspending parcel deliveries into the US.
“We are disappointed we have had to take this action, however, due to the complex and rapidly evolving situation, a temporary partial suspension has been necessary to allow us to develop and implement a workable solution for our customers,” Australia Post executive general manager Gary Starr said in a statement.
Australia Post is partnering with American firm Zonos — one of only two customs compliance software providers approved in the US – to facilitate the payment of tariffs before products arrive on American shores but that system is not yet operating.
An email from Australia Post to its business customers seen by this masthead said Zonos would directly invoice and handle duty payments to US Customs and Border Protection on Australia Post customers’ behalf.
It encouraged customers to sign up for a Zonos account “as soon as possible” but did not say how long it would take for the two organisations’ systems to be integrated.
Zonos chief executive Clint Reid said he couldn’t “begin to explain the absolutely utterly insane month we are having” in a post to X last week. Zonos was approved as a customs compliance provider just eight days before the tariff exemption comes into effect.
According to a separate X post, Reid said Zonos had a 268 per cent rise in new users since the administration approved it to offer the service.
Similar pauses have been enacted by or are set to begin in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Austria and Italy because the “de minimis” exemption – which had allowed companies to send low-value parcels to the US without paying tariffs – is set to expire on August 29. Last week the international logistics companies DHL temporarily paused shipments to the US from business customers in its home country of Germany.
An Albanese government spokesman said it would “work with Australia Post to limit disruption for affected customers while they make adjustments to comply with new requirements.”
“We continue to advocate for the removal of all tariffs on Australian exports, in line with our free trade agreement.”
The global economy has been roiled by Trump’s tariff agenda over recent months. The president has argued it will “enrich” US citizens despite most economists believing the cost is born by American consumers.
On April 2 Trump held a “Liberation Day” press conference in which he announced tariffs of between 10 per cent and 50 per cent on foreign nations, many of which have been adjusted since.
Australia has maintained the lowest baseline tariffs imposed on foreign powers by the US, in large part thanks to a trade surplus America enjoys with Australia.
The Coalition has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for failing to secure a meeting with Trump. Only three leaders of G20 countries, a club of major economies that includes Australia, have not met with the president in person. There have been lower level ministerial contacts.
Opposition spokesperson for small business Tim Wilson said that many firms relied on Australia Post to ship goods overseas.
“We need government to engage. I suspect Kevin Rudd is going to be off to the White House or Congress pretty quick smart, because we need to make sure this relationship is sorted,” Wilson told Sky News on Tuesday morning.
Letters, documents and gifts under $US100 are exempt from the Australia Post suspension.
Paul Zalai, director of the Freight & Trade Alliance that represents logistics companies, said Australia Post’s pause was only a “relatively small part of the equation” which he expected to last only a few weeks.
Zalai said retailers would find it advantageous to ship goods to the US in bulk and distribute them from America, thereby paying tariffs on wholesale prices rather than retail prices.
“I imagine a lot of larger scale retailers will change their logistics models. Smaller manufacturers or suppliers to the US … will be subject to higher costs and may suffer accordingly,” Zalai said.
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