The national postal service said Thursday it will stop accepting packages bound for the United States starting next week in line with a US suspension of a duty-free policy for international shipments.
The move comes as the US is set to end the so-called de minimis exemption, under which low-cost parcels from overseas valued at $800 or less can be shipped to the country without tariffs. All international shipments will face a 15 percent tariff starting Aug. 29.
The postal service will stop receiving US-bound air freight packages starting Monday and all parcels shipped via the Express Mail Service starting Tuesday. The move does not affect shipments of documents and correspondence.
Customers will still be able to send packages to the US via the premium EMS service, which imposes tariffs on the recipient.
The postal service vowed to draw up measures to minimize customer inconvenience and urged people planning to send parcels to the US to thoroughly prepare necessary shipping documents. (Yonhap)
