The business of delivering packages has gotten more complex amid the latest wave of tariffs, and in some cases, shipping companies such as UPS wind up simply trashing some packages.
As the Trump administration increasingly wields tariffs as economic and foreign policy tools, international packages coming into the United States need more information to clear customs. Tariffs have been deployed or increased recently on certain products, such as steel and aluminum, and most recently lumber and wood products, including upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets.
And additional tariffs have been levied on products coming from certain nations, including Canada, China, Mexico and India, which recently had tariffs increased to 50%. Also complicating matters: the Aug. 29 scrapping of the de minimis exemption, which avoided tariffs on packages shipped to the United States valued at $800 or less.
Shipments may be stuck in limbo as UPS, FedEx, DHL Express and other shipping companies seek the information required to adhere to new tariffs, including whether a product contains wood or aluminum, or if any or all of it was manufactured in a country with elevated tariffs. The companies also have to know if the required tariff charges were made to ship the packages.
