DHL has “temporarily” suspend the shipping of parcels worth more than $800 to U.S. consumers “until further notice,” according to a company statement. The freeze is due to delays in getting packages through U.S. customs as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
“As a result of recent US Customs regulatory updates, we are experiencing multi-day transit delays to the US from any origin for shipments with a declared customs value exceeding USD 800,” DHL said in a statement.
The multinational logistics and shipping company DHL said it would suspend shipments over $800 to consumers in the U.S. because of delays in getting packages through customs.
DHL, which is a subsidiary of the German Deutsche Post, said the suspension was due to recent changes to U.S. customs regulations that lowered the minimum value at which parcels required formal processing, according to a statement. New regulations that went into effect April 5 lowered the threshold from $2,500 to $800.
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President Donald Trump has launched a wide-ranging trade war since coming to office, threatening friend and foe alike with steep tariffs to address US trade deficits with individual countries.
As part of those changes, the government has also lowered the threshold at which parcels to individuals require formal entry processing by US Customs — down to $800 from $2,500 as of April 5.
“This change has caused a surge in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock,” DHL said in a statement announcing the pause.
In order to address the issue, DHL will halt shipments starting Monday, April 21, “from any origin” that exceed the $800 limit “until further notice.”
The change to DHL’s policy wouldn’t affect business-to-business shipments or deliveries to consumers that were less than $800. That said, DHL did warn even packaging exempt from its shipping freeze could be subject to days-long delays regardless of where they came from because of the backlog at U.S. customs.
The company added that business-to-business shipments would not be affected by the suspension, “though they may also face delays.”
Trump’s government has taken particular aim at China, and earlier this month Washington closed a duty-free exemption for small parcels from that country, a move that appeared to be designed to target low-cost online retailers like Temu and Shein.