The Post & Parcel Germany division of DHL Group has resumed postal goods shipping to the United States and Puerto Rico for business customers as of September 25, 2025, following a four-week suspension triggered by new U.S. customs regulations.

The pause began on August 29, when the U.S. government enacted the Executive Order Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries, eliminating the previous US$800 duty-free threshold for imports.

"After just four weeks during which Deutsche Post/DHL and many other postal service providers had to suspend this type of shipping to the USA due to new legal regulations, Germany's largest postal and parcel service will again provide companies with the option to use DHL Parcel International for shipping to the USA, in addition to DHL Express, starting September 25," DHL said in a statement.

To comply with the new rules, DHL now requires business customers to use its Postal Delivered Duty Paid (PDDP) service for shipments valued up to US$800. This service, previously available only for select European destinations — including Norway, the UK, and Switzerland — will now be extended to the U.S., ensure that senders cover all import duties in advance. Key requirements include providing complete customs data—such as tariff codes and country of origin—and booking the PDDP service at a cost of €2 per shipment.

Additional customs fees and third-party service charges are passed on without markup. The so-called "ad valorem" method will be used for calculating customs duties.

Private shipments declared as gifts remain exempt up to US$100, but are subject to stricter scrutiny to prevent misuse. DHL emphasized that base parcel rates remain unchanged, and the new rules apply only to DHL Parcel-branded products, not to DHL Express or DHL eCommerce services.

DHL noted that it completely overhauled the entire process of data collection, customs reporting, and payment of applicable customs fees in a very short time to comply with the new customs regulations outlined in the U.S. government's executive order.

DHL emphasizes that the actual parcel prices to the U.S. will remain stable.

The additional costs incurred by business customers for postal shipping to the USA will be based solely on external factors for which DHL is not responsible and over which it has no control.

"The new shipping process does not apply to private customers. Packages from individuals to individuals with a goods value up to US$100, declared as "gift," are not affected by the new regulations in the USA. However, these shipments will be monitored even more closely than before to prevent the misuse of private gift shipments for shipping commercial goods," DHL said.

There are also no changes for shipping documents in letters.

DHL noted that shipping goods via DHL Express and the commercial import of goods into the U.S. under the currently applicable customs rates remains possible.

The new shipping modalities for postal goods shipping from Germany to the USA only affect products under the DHL Parcel brand. Products from other DHL divisions, such as DHL Express or DHL eCommerce, are not impacted.

As of August 29, 2025, new customs regulations in accordance with the Executive Order "Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for all Countries" have come into effect. These regulations include the removal of the previous duty-free threshold for goods valued up to US$800.

Additionally, new processes required by U.S. authorities for postal shipping are being introduced, which differ from the previously applicable regulations. Due to some unresolved questions, all major postal companies worldwide, including Deutsche Post/DHL, were forced to temporarily suspend postal goods shipping to the U.S.

Aside from DHL, Japan Post and Royal Mail also temporarily suspended certain deliveries to the U.S. following the termination of the de minimis exemption, a U.S. trade policy that previously allowed low-value goods to enter duty-free.