DHL, one of the world’s largest delivery companies, has announced it will suspend consumer shipments to the United States valued over $800 temporarily. The freeze comes as President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariffs and feud with China causes a massive backlog at US entry points, piling paperwork and delays onto a system already under pressure. It all started as a crackdown on Chinese imports, but is now quickly spiraling into wider trade chaos. It’s bad news for your Temu and Shein hauls, and it’s only going to get worse.
How small packages became big problems at customs
The complexities of moving goods across international borders have always required a delicate balance between trade efficiency and national security. Normally, companies ship goods into the United States and customs authorities check shipments to make sure they comply with local laws and pay the necessary taxes. This is the way it has always been.
But because millions of packages cross into the US every day, the system allows small-value items, usually under a set amount, to pass through with very little paperwork. This system is called the de minimis threshold, and until recently, that threshold in the US was $2,500. It meant that goods worth less than those figures could enter quickly and boost international trade.
Donald Trump’s new tariff regime is changing this ease of entry as his administration has reduced the de minimis threshold to $800. More importantly, it has introduced stricter customs inspections for all goods, especially from China and other Asian countries. His argument is that packages from these regions are being used to hide synthetic opioids and other illegal substances.
Every shipment over the new threshold now face formal customs clearance. That means more paperwork and major delays from shipping companies. It’s why DHL particularly announced that it would suspend deliveries worth more than $800 to US consumers “until further notice”. Business-to-business deliveries will continue but might also face multi-day delays.
Related: Google’s Plan for Cheaper Foldables Dead Thanks to Trump Tariffs
Your virtual cart is collateral damage in a serious trade war
What’s happening right now is a diabolical strike against the cheap Asian online platforms that millions of ordinary people around the world, especially young Americans, depend on for affordables. Most of the clothes, gadgets, and daily essentials we love come from Alibaba, Shein, Temu, and Aliexpress, to mention a few. These names become lifelines during tough economic times. They offer prices that no Western brand can match.
But they also embarrassed American businesses. The sheer flood of Chinese goods exposed how overpriced many US luxury brands are, and more painfully, how little value those brands actually offer compared to their foreign competitors.
It didn’t help that investigations coming out of China recently have started exposing luxury labels, criticizing their quality, inflated pricing, and in some cases, questionable labor practices. This trade move is America’s payback.
If you can make customs a minefield, you successfully kneecap these platforms. You force them to either drown under massive customs delays or raise prices and destroy their competitive edge. Because of this, the next phone you buy could cost a fortune more than usual.
Days ago, Trump originally promised that consumer electronics wouldn’t face new tariffs because he didn’t want to point the gun on his own citizens. iPhones, Samsung phones, laptops and more gadgets are commonplace items in most American households.
His previous reassurances no longer hold. If a store tries to bundle phones or gadgets together to ship through DHL, the total shipment value often crosses the $800 mark. Even if each individual phone or accessory is worth far less, the combined value triggers full formal customs clearance under the new rules.
