USPS is adding Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) to address recent challenges mailers have faced related to foreign-country tariffs that apply to certain outbound international items as well as the end of de minimis, it revealed in filings with the Postal Regulatory Commission on Friday. The changes will benefit users by making it possible for a sender, in certain instances, to prepay any applicable customs duties, taxes, and fees at the time of mailing.
It’s understandable that US shippers might need solutions as a result of reciprocal tariffs imposed by other countries. It may be less clear why they need a solution for the end of the de minimis exemption, which impacts US citizens receiving packages from other countries. The USPS explained the suspension of de minimis impacts “domestic items originating in certain U.S. Territories and Possessions and destined to the Customs Territory of the United States or CTUS.”
“To illustrate, by paying amounts owed at the time of mailing, a customer shipping an outbound international item can reduce the risk that the buyer will opt to reject the item in lieu of paying amounts owed at the time of delivery, forcing the sender to choose between abandoning the item or paying for its return.
“USPS DDP will also enable the Postal Service to ensure that domestic items originating in certain U.S. Territories and Possessions and destined to the CTUS meet applicable customs requirements, avoiding potential service delays and interruptions.”
The USPS will initially charge a $0 fee for DDP, which does not include any applicable taxes, duties, and non-USPS fees, which are collected separately and passed through to a third party. It said it had determined that “charging a USPS fee on top of what customers must pay for any applicable duties, taxes, and non-USPS fees, including a service fee charged to the customer by a third-party supplier, could make the total cost of shipping through the Postal Service too high for certain customers, potentially resulting in a reduction in volume.”
With DDP, some customers may use USPS instead of a competitor, but “customers will likely consider the total cost of shipping when selecting a delivery service provider. Therefore, the Postal Service does not anticipate that the initial $0 USPS DDP fee will, on its own, give the Postal Service a competitive advantage over other delivery service providers.”