(I am not part of UPS Corporate, please take info with a grain of salt.)

What's going on?

Many countries have announced that they are stopping almost all shipments to the US. This means that any future packages that were intended for the US cannot leave the country via government postal services. DHL has also suspended shipments from some countries to America. The list includes many European countries, Australia, and Japan, among others.

Why is this happening?

The US President removed the "deminimus value" exemption on international shipments. Basically, items under $800 in value didn't have to go through detailed inspection by the Customs office, a government organization that regulates and checks packages entering the US. This is why companies like Temu thrive, they have low shipping costs for low-priced items - at least, they used to. China was the first to have the deminimus value exemption removed, but it has since been expanded to the entire globe. Nearly every package in the US must be inspected by Customs, along with having a broker (an official within shipping companies) verify the information, which has an extra fee.

The rollout of this plan has been haphazard, to say the least. Countries and companies alike are having issues figuring out how to interpret the rules, as breaking them could come with hefty penalties. The rules are also changing constantly - the fees today might be different by the time the package arrives next week. Rather than face this uncertainty and possible money loss, countries are choosing to stop shipments altogether. Shipping companies are also making similar decisions.

Is this because of the tariffs?

No, but yes. Technically, this is due to the deminimus value being revoked, which is not a tariff per se, but it's part of the larger effort to put tariffs on international goods. There is some confusion on whether items under $800 will be tariffed at their actual value, or given a flat $80 fee. That would mean a $10 item would now cost $90 on top of any other shipping payments. There is also confusion about whether Trump's statement that "items under $100 won't have fees" will actually be implemented.

So what do I do now? What if I have a shipment now/in the future?

The flow of goods has stopped from some countries to the US, but items from the US can still go to those countries (for now). If you have placed an order that has not yet shipped, contact the company you bought it from to figure out your next steps. You might get a refund rather than the item, unfortunately. If you were planning to buy a future item (e.g. a preorder or a Christmas present) your options are to buy local, buy from another country that does not have a shipping restriction, or physically go to the country and get the item. Yes, it sucks, but those are the only options right now.

Who should I be angry at?

NOT the people at the Post Office! This is a foreign country's reaction to a decision made by the US President, the local mail carrier has no affect on how this happened. If your order gets cancelled, please don't take it out on the customer service reps, who also had no say in this matter. You can be mad at the other countries for making this decision, but ultimately, this is because of the Carrot in Chief. We got what we voted for.