Swiss Post resumes shipping parcels to US for business customers

New regulations introduced by the US require the so-called DDP procedure (Delivered Duty Paid) for postal goods shipments from abroad. Keystone-SDA

From Monday, Swiss Post will once again be able to send some parcels from business customers to the United States. The prerequisite for this is a billing relationship.

Swiss Post announced on Thursday that it will once again provide Swiss businesses, such as online retailers, with a postal shipping service that complies with the new US customs regulations.

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New regulations introduced by the US require the so-called DDP procedure (Delivered Duty Paid) for postal goods shipments from abroad. This means that import duties are charged to the sender. Previously, the recipient had to pay these costs upon receipt of the goods.

Swiss Post has now adapted its systems to ensure the necessary data and value flows for US customs authorities, the company announced.

Swiss Post does not yet have a legally compliant customs clearance solution for packages from private individuals and business customers without a billing relationship, it added. But it is working on finding a compliant solution as quickly as possible.

On August 25, Swiss Post announced that it would temporarily stop sending postal consignments to the US. However, since September 4, gifts with a value of up to $100 can once again be sent to the US by post. Swiss Post adapted its IT systems for this purpose. It also liaised with international transport partners and introduced additional control mechanisms.

Due to the new tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, letter and parcel traffic to the US slumped by more than 80% at the beginning of September, according to the Universal Postal Union. In all, 88 postal service providers worldwide have completely or partially stopped shipping to the US since the abolition of an exemption for small parcels at the end of August.

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Translated from German with DeepL/gw

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