German, French post offices restrict packages to US over tariffs

BERLIN: The postal services of Germany and France on Friday announced a raft of restrictions on package deliveries to the United States due to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

DHL, which owns the Deutsche Post service, said that from Saturday it would “temporarily suspend” its standard category of US package delivery, the preferred option for many small businesses.

“The reason for the restrictions, which we expect to be temporary, are new processes for postal delivery which have been put in place by the US authorities,” DHL said in a statement.

“Important questions have not yet been answered, including who will have to pay the tariffs and how,” it added.

France´s La Poste told AFP it would suspend from Monday package deliveries to the United States, except for gifts sent by individuals with a value of less than 100 euros ($116).

It said the new rules had been issued only on August 15, “leaving European postal services with an extremely limited timeframe to get prepared.

“Moreover, their related documentation still requires further clarification,” La Poste added in a statement.