Austrian postal group joins European peers in halting parcel shipments to US

FRANKURT (Reuters) -Austrian Post on Thursday joined other European postal services groups in stopping standard parcel shipments to the United States as U.S. customs services are set to charge duties for low-value packages.

The Austrian state-controlled group said in a statement it would no longer take consignments for U.S.-bound standard parcels from next Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said last month it would suspend the global "de minimis" exemption, which also allows minimal paperwork, for international shipments under $800, effective August 29.

Earlier this week, several postal groups in Scandinavia and Belgium paused parcel shipments to the United States.

Austrian Post cited both the scrapping of the "de minimis" exemption as well as uncertainty over future U.S. postal customs clearance as reasons for its move.

"This tightening poses major challenges for all postal companies worldwide when sending goods to the USA," it said.

The company added that it would continue to send gifts worth less than $100 to the United States via standard parcel and that the suspension would also not apply to its premium service Post Express International.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger)