Japan Post to temporarily suspend mail to US over end of de minimis exemption

Summary

Temporary Suspension of Acceptance of Mail to the United States Due to Changes in U.S. Customs and Regulations August 25, 2025 On July 30, 2025, the U.S. government issued an executive order titled “Termination of De Minimis Treatment for All Countries” regarding mail to the United States. Under this executive order, starting August 29, 2025, mail containing goods imported for personal use (taxable mail) will no longer be eligible for duty-free treatment, and tariffs will be imposed. On August 15, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced new guidelines regarding the elimination of de minimis rules, which require that transport operators pay customs deposits to CBP and prepare customs declarations. The procedures that transport operators and postal operators in each country must follow to comply with these guidelines are not clear, however, making implementation difficult. Therefore, starting August 27 (Wed.), in line with other national postal operators, we will temporarily suspend the acceptance of postal items (small packets, parcels, and EMS (goods)) to the United States that contain the following items: Individual gifts with a content value exceeding 100 US dollars Goods intended for sale for consumption In addition, we will continue to accept letters, postcards, printed matter, EMS (documents), and postal items (small packets, parcels, and EMS (goods)) containing gifts between individuals with a value of less than US$100. As an alternative to the above suspension of acceptance, our international courier service, UGX (U-Global Express), can handle shipments in compliance with U.S. customs regulations: UGX (U-Global Express) We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. The latest information on the status of international mail items to be sent to destination countries and regions can be found here.