Business
European carriers pause some shipments to U.S. as they prepare for end of ‘de minimis’ exemption
An aerial view of a cargo ship being loaded with shipping containers at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 7, 2025.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
Postal carriers across Europe are planning to suspend some shipments to the U.S. as the nations prepare for the end of a longstanding trade rule.
Certain shipments from Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Switzerland are due to be paused in the coming days and weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the century-old “de minimis” exemption.
The trade policy, sometimes referred to as a “loophole,” has allowed shipments valued under $800 to enter the U.S. virtually duty-free. The practice is set to end for imports from around the globe on Friday following Trump’s executive order.
The de minimis exemption for goods coming from China and Hong Kong, which have long accounted for the bulk of those shipments, ended in May.
The suspensions will impact shipments valued under $800, and largely exclude gifts and letters. Most of the countries said they have to pause shipments because their systems weren’t built for the new requirements and they’re unsure how to properly process the shipments under the new rules.
In a Friday statement, German-based international shipping company DHL said Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels destined for the U.S. It said “key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out.”
Customers will still be able to ship goods via DHL Express, which is more expensive.
National post offices in Spain, France and Belgium issued similar notices.
In a news release, Spain’s national post office Correos said it learned of the detailed requirements necessary to comply with the executive order on Aug. 15 and hasn’t had enough time to change its systems.
“This situation forces Correos, along with all postal operators that manage shipments destined for the United States, to substantially modify their processes and increase shipment controls to implement the new customs requirements, significantly impacting international postal logistics and e-commerce flows,” Correos said, adding the suspension took effect on Monday.
It said it is working to resume the shipments “as quickly as possible.”
Belgium’s post office said it was suspending shipments beginning on Saturday while France’s La Poste said shipments would be suspended beginning on Monday.
Meanwhile, Finland’s post office Posti stopped accepting goods bound for the U.S. on Saturday but later added it could no longer accept gifts or letters either because “several airlines have now refused to transport any postal items to the United States.”
The carriers said they expect the suspensions to be temporary. The pauses could delay some shipments, but are not expected to affect most international commerce.
Larger retailers, both domestic and international, don’t tend to use the de minimis exemption that often because they ship their goods via containers to U.S. warehouses and pay tariffs on the goods. Two major exceptions are Temu and Shein, which popularized the use of de minimis and relied on it for the bulk of their shipments to U.S. consumers. Since de minimis ended for goods shipped from China, demand has fallen for Shein and Temu as prices have risen.
The suspended shipments are expected to impact smaller orders from Americans who are shopping from smaller European businesses directly.
The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
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