Starting August 22nd, Deutsche Post and DHL had to temporarily pause transporting "business customer" packages destined for the United States.
AFP reported that the suspended service affected the preferred shipping option for many small businesses. Other European postal services, such as those in Belgium, Austria, Denmark and France had taken similar measures.
But then one month later, DHL announced that it would resume postal shipping from Germany to the US and Peurto Rico for business customers.
As we enter the holiday season, Americans in Germany may be wondering if they can still send letters or personal gifts to people in the US.
Here's what you need to know:
Can I still send mail or parcels to the US?
In short, yes; at this time DHL says its services to the US are unaffected.
A DHL spokesperson told The Local that the company "had to pause postal shipments to the USA at the end of August due to new regulations..."
They added that Shipments via DHL Express, and the sending of personal gifts with a value of up to $100 (or around €85) were not affected.
However, the spokesperson said that about four weeks later, DHL was able to resume shipping good to the US via postal service.
According to a DHL press release, private customers can ship letters and packages to the US as usual at this time. Also, business customers are able to use DHL's Parcel International service to ship to the US and its territories again.
The company says that shipping prices remain stable.
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Businesses can use 'postal delivery duty paid'
The suspension of some shipping services to the US came as the result of an US Executive Order by the Trump administration which eliminated the 'de minimis' exception, which had previously allowed packages with a value of up to $800 to enter and be exempt from customs duties.
The rule change, which has been in effect since August 29th, means that all business parcels shipped to the US and its territories (including Puerto Rico and Guam) are now subject to customs duties.
To allow shipments to continue and ensure that duties were accounted for, DHL extended its "Postal Delivered Duty Paid" (PDDP) service to shipments from Germany to the US. This service previously existed on shipments to Norway, the UK and Switzerland.
Business customers can use this service to to send up to $800 of goods to US addresses. In this case the shipper pays the import duty in advance, and its the responsibility of the shipper to provide complete and correct information about what is being shipped and its value.
The price for the PDDP service to the US is €2 per shipment.
What if I want to send a valuable gift?
Personal gifts worth up to $100 are exempt from the US customs duty, but more valuable gifts are affected.
You can still ship these items with DHL, but a customs duty will be applied.
So if you are sending a gift that you bought for more that about €85, you may want to check if it makes more sense to DHL Express or the PDDP service, and you should expect to pay something like 15 percent of the gift's value in customs fees.
Another option is to ship your package with another courier company like FedEx or UPS.
Many of these couriers were still shipping items from Germany and Europe to the US immediately after the customs rules were changed, although there had been some reports of customers facing issues.
In some cases, customers learned that their shipments were stuck in 'purgatory' at UPS facilities for months, waiting to be processed. While others saw their packages marked as 'could not be delivered' and were eventually returned to the sender.
A report by Business Insider noted that some of these packages were ultimately marked for destruction.
How to ship to the US with DHL?
To send a letter or parcel with DHL you can use the "ship now" function on the company's website or just bring your letter or parcel to the nearest DHL service station.
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If you are sending a package that is a gift (Geschenk), be sure to declare is as such when asked.
Have you sent a letter or package to the US from Germany recently? Please share your experiences in the comments below.
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