By Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's postal service said on Tuesday it had temporarily suspended parcel shipments to the United States after President Donald Trump's administration decided to scrap a customs tax rule that allowed low-value packages to enter duty free.
The Australian government-owned Australia Post's move comes after several European and Asian carriers, including Swiss Post and DHL, which runs Germany's postal service Deutsche Post, Japan Post and Korea Post paused shipments to the United States because of the new rules.
"We are disappointed we have had to take this action, however, due to the complex and rapidly evolving situation, a temporary partial suspension has been necessary to allow us to develop and implement a workable solution for our customers," Australia Post said in a statement.
The U.S. government said last month that packages valued at or under $800 sent to the United States would face all applicable duties from August 29 as it suspended a "de minimis" exemption for low-value shipments.
Goods shipped through the postal system would face one of two tariffs: either an "ad valorem duty" equal to the effective tariff rate of the package's country of origin or, for six months, a specific tariff of $80 to $200 depending on the country of origin's tariff rate.
Packages sent to the U.S. and Puerto Rico lodged on or after August 26 would not be accepted until further notice, the postal service said. Gifts under $100, letters and documents are unaffected by the change.
Australia Post said it would continue to work with the U.S. and Australian authorities, and international postal partners to resume services to the U.S. soon.
Nicola Charwat, Senior Lecturer at Monash University, said the impact in Australia would be mostly felt by small businesses that sell directly to U.S. consumers.
"This includes businesses specialising in sustainable clothing and gifts, as well as distinctly Australian goods such as cosmetics, food and wine. These parcels will now be subject to a 10% baseline tariff," Charwat said.
Japan Post on Monday said it would suspend accepting some postal items to the U.S. Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa said the move would have "only a limited impact" on users as there were alternative shipping methods.
South Korea has stopped shipping packages to the U.S. though customers will be able to send through its partnership service with UPS, Korea Post said last week.
FedEx's Australian business said it continued to accept and transport shipments to the United States. "As an express carrier, our international express offerings are not impacted by the decisions of postal operators," FedEx Regional Vice President Peter Langley said in a statement.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney, Heejin Kim in Seoul and Mariko Katsumura in Tokyo; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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