Chunghwa Post yesterday said it has resumed shipments to the US of small parcels containing noncommercial gifts or books valued at less than US$100.
The state-owned firm suspended such shipments in August due to the expiration of a tariff exemption.
The postal company said in a statement that it has resumed shipments in accordance with US government executive orders and guidance from the Universal Postal Union’s International Bureau, which confirmed such shipments remained exempt from US customs duties.
Photo: Tsai Yun-rong,Taipei Times
However, parcels that US customs officers judge to be more than US$100 in value or contain items other than noncommercial gifts or books could be seized, destroyed or returned, Chunghwa Post said, adding that it would not bear responsibility for such parcels or associated costs.
The resumption of service comes after Chunghwa Post on Aug. 26 halted shipments to the US of all express mail service packages, international parcel posts, ePackets, international registered small packages and international ordinary small packages.
The suspension was initiated in response to the US government’s announcement that the so-called “Duty-Free de minimis Treatment” would expire on Aug. 29.
The policy originally exempted customs duties on items mailed to the US valued at US$800 or below.
Due to its lack of a system for collecting duties from senders of parcels in advance and remitting them to US Customs and Border Protection, Chunghwa Post decided to suspend small parcel shipments to the US, but it continued handling letters, postcards and other printed materials, it said.
Last year, people sent approximately 340,000 packages to the US via Chunghwa Post, company data showed.
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