Shippers' jobs complicated by Trump's tariffs
By: Mike Snider
USA Today
..... The business of delivering packages has gotten complex amid the latest wave of tariffs, and in some cases, shipping companies such as UPS wind up simply trashing some packages.
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As the Trump administration increasingly wields tariffs as economic and foreign policy tools, international packages coming into the United States need more information to clear customs. Tariffs have been deployed or incrased recently on certain products, such as steel and aluminum. and most recently lumber and wood products including upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets.
..... And additions, tariffs have been levied on products coming from certain nations, including Canada, China, Mexico and India, which recently had tariffs increased to 50%. also complicating matters: the August 29 [2025] scrapping of the de minmis exemption, which allowed shippers to avoid tariffs on packages shipped to the United States valued at $800 or less.
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Shipments may be stuck in limbo s UPS, FedEx, DHL Express and other shipping companies seek the information required to adhere to new tariffs, including whether a product contains wood or aluminum, or if any or all of it was manufactured in a country with elevated tariffs. The companies also have to know if the required tariff charges were made to ship the packages.
..... While shipping companies work through the customs issues, consumes who are awaiting purchased goods have grown frustrated about delays or the likelihood of their package arriving.
..... "Are my packages actually being destroyed or not?" Ashley Freberg said in an interview with NBC News, which reported on the situation on October 10. [2025] Freberg said she was missing several boxes she shipped via UPS form England in September. [2025] After getting notices that her packages did not clear customs and were subsequently destroyed, she then got an updated that the shipments were on the way.
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Other customers have posted on Reddit about how they have gotten surprise bills from UPS to pay for increased tariffs.
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"Am I about to get hit with a $1,000 tariff and broker bill or lose this package entirely?" posted one person who said they have ordered custom wedding bands from Canada, where many goods carry a 35% tariff.
Why UPS may have to 'dispose' of some packages
..... UPS, which delivers millions of packages daily, says it is clearing more than 90% of imported packages on the first day of entry, the company told USA Today in a statement.
..... But that still can leave thousands of packages in limbo.
..... "Because of changes to U.S. import regulations, we are seeing many packages that are unable to clear customs due to missing or incomplete information about the shipment required for customs clearance," the company said in a statement.
...... UPS makes "multiple attempts to obtain the necessary information to clear delayed shipments and deliver them," the company said.
..... After making more than three contacts pre package, sometimes UPS "cannot obtain the necessary information to clear the package," according to the company. In that case, UPS can return the package to the shipper if they pay for the expense, the company says.
..... UPS may sometimes each out to the recipient for the needed information. But if the company cannot, and the original shipper doesn't respond, and the "package cannot be cleared for delivery, it is considered abandoned, and we dispose of it in compliance with U.S. customs regulations," I{S said in its statement.
What are other shipping companies doing?
..... Other shippers are facing the same issues. when more customs information is needed, FedEx "actively works with senders to update paperwork to resubmit to (U.S. customs and Border Protection) or returned shipments to senders," the company said in a statement.
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While it is "not a common practice," some shipments are tossed, FedEx said.
..... "In some cases shippers can request that packages be disposed of if they would prefer not to pay to return to sender," the company said. "In those rare cases, recipients are notified at the direction of the shipper."
..... DHL Express has also gotten more "U.S. -bound shipments contain missing or incomplete customs information" in the increasingly complex shipping environment.
..... But the company does not "dispose of packages that aren't cleared by customs," the company said in a statement to USA Today. If the company's attempts to get the documentation needed don't succeed within 15 days, shipments are returned to the shipper, DHL said.
..... Like UPS and FedEx, DHL has information about tariffs and the latest customs information updates on tis website.
..... Some companies may decide not to ship to the United States because of the fluid tariff situation. China's Gstar Electronics Appliance Company sued to generate more than 60% of its revenue from U.S. orders, but has "given up" on the American market, the company's founder and CEO Jacky Ren told Reuters.
..... He is seeking new customs beyond the United States as the threat of a triple-digit tariff increase on Chinese goods has left Ren. he said, "extremely exhausted.
..... Contributing: Reuters