Postal traffic to US drops more than 80% after trade exemption rule ends, UN agency says

['Chandelis Duster', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] TPR: The Public's Radio 2025-09-07 17:54:41

(Mario Tama | Getty Images)Postal traffic to the U.S. has fallen significantly after the Trump administration suspended a trade exemption rule in late August, according to a global postal union. The U.N.’s Universal Postal Union (UPU) said the global postal network saw postal traffic enroute to the U.S. “come to a near halt” after Aug. 29, 2025, when the “de minimis” trade exemption that allowed small packages worth less than $800 to be exempt from tariffs ended. Data between postal operators shows that traffic dropped 81% on Aug. 29 compared to a week earlier, the union said. “The UPU has in its mission the responsibility to guarantee the free circulation of postal items over a single postal territory. Now it’s ending On Friday, the U.S. is ending its de minimis rule that made it easy for cheap goods to reach consumers.