Postal operators across Europe and parts of Asia are temporarily suspending most parcel shipments to the United States in the run-up to the 29 Aug. removal of Washington’s long-standing “de minimis” exemption for low-value imports. Belgium’s bpost will halt U.S. parcels from 23 Aug., the Nordic operators PostNord and Posten Bring are following suit the same day, and Austria’s postal group will stop accepting packages after 25 Aug. Germany’s Deutsche Post DHL said it will cease taking standard business consignments to the United States after 25 Aug., while France’s La Poste plans to suspend the bulk of its U.S. parcel services from 25 Aug. as well. Premium courier products such as DHL Express and verified gift shipments below US$100 remain available, but carriers warn of tighter controls and longer transit times. The moves come after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on 30 July that ends the duty-free treatment for foreign parcels valued at US$800 or less. From 29 Aug., all international mail will be subject to regular customs clearance and a 15 percent tariff, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection still finalising collection procedures. Industry groups say key information on data transmission and duty payment was only issued on 15 Aug., leaving operators little time to re-tool their systems. Analysts estimate more than four million such parcels arrive in the United States each day, driven by cross-border e-commerce. Postal services say they will resume normal operations once new billing and data requirements are clarified, but warn that the policy shift could redirect volumes to express integrators and raise costs for consumers and small online merchants worldwide.