ZAGREB, 23 Aug (Hina) - As of 26 August, the acceptance of all postal items containing commercial goods destined for the United States will be suspended, regardless of their value, Croatian Post (HP) reported on its website.
Only items containing written communication and "gifts" sent by private individuals to other private individuals in the US, with a total value not exceeding 100 US dollars, will be accepted.
The decision to suspend the acceptance of such shipments follows an executive order by the United States, which ends the duty-free “de minimis” treatment for goods sent via postal shipments to the USA.
This order comes into effect on 29 August, according to the announcement published on HP’s website.
"This measure will significantly affect all postal companies worldwide and their customers who send shipments via postal networks to the United States Postal Service (USPS). Currently, low-value goods and gifts can be imported duty-free into the US from other countries due to the ‘de minimis’ customs threshold, which is set at 800 US dollars. However, the changes mean that customs duties will now apply to all goods imported into the US, regardless of the country of origin,” Croatian Post explained.
They also emphasised that the sender is solely responsible for correctly completing the CN23 customs declaration form and accurately declaring the contents of the shipment. Croatian Post bears no responsibility for this, nor for how the shipment is handled in the destination country - the United States - as a result of incorrect customs declarations.
In its announcement, Croatian Post also shared the official statement from PostEurop, the association of European public postal operators, of which HP is a member. The statement noted that developments regarding the US executive order are being closely monitored.
PostEurop and its Members are closely following the developments around the U.S. Executive Order “Suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries” on postal goods shipped to the USA.
"PostEurop members are working very hard on solutions to ensure that postal goods shipping to the USA can continue for both business and private customers, considering also the importance of guaranteeing the Universal Postal Service," reads the statement.
"Critical issues and processes, such as customs duties collection, the data to be collected, and the interaction with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, are not yet clearly defined. Select technical details were only released on 15 August, leaving an extremely short timeframe to prepare," PostEurop says.
"At this time, if critical issues and processes are not defined and, thus, compliant solutions cannot be found before the regulations take effect on 29 August 2025, PostEurop Members, in alignment with the competent National Authorities, may be constrained to temporarily restrict or suspend the shipping of goods via the postal networks to the USA."
Postal operators in BiH inform about temporary suspension of shipments to USA
Postal operators in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including "BH Pošta" and "Pošte Srpske", have also informed their customers that, as of today, they are temporarily suspending the acceptance of all shipments destined for recipients in the United States due to new customs regulations set to come into effect on 29 August.
Those operators emphasise that the suspension of postal item acceptance is temporary and that, due to the inability to implement the new customs and tariff regulations, partner air carriers have also suspended the acceptance of international shipments bound for the United States.
As of 1 August 2025, the United States has announced the introduction of a 30 percent tariff on all products imported from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This measure is the result of the reciprocal tariff policy implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration, aimed at balancing trade relations with countries that, according to US claims, engage in unfair trade practices toward American products.
