It is therefore the turn of Switzerland. From Tuesday, La Poste temporarily stops goods to the United States due to the new customs prescriptions of the United States government. Shipments of documents and express shipments to the North American country, however, remain possible.
The US government has decided to suppress, from August 29, the 800 dollars deductible for the import of goods, the post office announced on Monday. Without this franchise, each shipping of goods – regardless of its size and value – must be declared and cleared to American customs.
In addition, the United States has introduced new prescriptions within a very short time to take place. These differ strongly from the current regulations of the Universal Postal Union. From now on, all goods intended for the United States must be shipped already predouanized, notes La Poste.
Nearly 180 million packages
Important questions regarding the responsibility and application of new prescriptions are not yet clarified. This is why La Poste, like many postal companies in the world, is forced to refuse goods for the United States. La Poste made this decision in close collaboration with the Swiss authorities. Express shipments to the United States by Fedex Express Swiss Post GmbH remain possible during the temporary suspension of reception, as well as the shipping of letters.
On Monday, a spokesperson for La Poste said that Switzerland’s shipments from Switzerland to the United States represented 0.2% of the total volume of the Post Swiss Post. Last year, it treated around 180 million packages, which means that around 360,000 packages are dispatched each year to the United States.
Suspension in several countries
The Swiss Post follows the example of several European postal companies, which have announced in recent days similar measures.
Last Thursday, for example, the Austrian Post announced that from Tuesday, it would no longer deal with any shipping of goods for the United States until further notice. Previously, postal service providers in Belgium, Germany or France had done the same.
Last Thursday, the Austrian Post said that in the future, it would only carry to the United States private gift packages of a value of less than 100 euros (93 Swiss francs) and sending of documents. For companies, the only alternative available is a more expensive express service, provided in partnership with the DHL service provider.