Swiss Post suspends package deliveries to US

Swiss Post has announced that, as of August 26, it will no longer ship parcels from Switzerland to the US. The Netherlands, Germany and Austria have also paused deliveries.

Swiss Post halts packages to the US 

Swiss Post has announced in a press release that, due to new customs regulations introduced by the US government, all packages shipped to the US, regardless of price and size, will have to be declared and cleared through US customs. From August 29, all goods sent to the US will no longer benefit from an 800 US dollar (642 Swiss franc) exemption on import duties.

According to Swiss Post’s statement, the new customs regulations will “differ greatly from the Universal Postal Union’s previous regulations.” The short-notice change has left some practical issues unresolved. “For this reason, Swiss Post, like other postal companies, is forced to stop accepting goods consignments to the USA for the time being,” Swiss Post said.

A number of countries in the EU have also halted parcel shipments to the US, including the Netherlands and Germany, due to the new tax.

Customers can still send letters to US with Swiss Post 

While the issues created by the new regulations are still being resolved, Swiss Post stated that it is still possible to send letters, documents, and items using its express service.

The postal service reassured customers that they are working to find further solutions as quickly as possible, including the option to send items up to the value of 100 US dollars (approximately 80 Swiss francs) as “gifts”. However, “gift” packages will be subject to more scrutiny from US customs authorities to ensure they are not commercial packages.

The Swiss government is in continued negotiations with the US government following the introduction of new US import tariffs in early August. President Donald Trump introduced a 39 percent tariff on all products from Switzerland imported to the US, and sparked discussions about the impact on the Swiss economy.