NZ Post had temporarily suspended parcel services to the US due to confusion surrounding the tariff system. This suspension affected shipments to American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
The postal service is expected to resume within weeks as it navigates the complexities of the Trump administration’s tariffs.
Jared Handcock from NZ Post said the process was complicated because the tariff rate varies depending on the origin of the goods.
“So this falls to the sender to actually determine where the goods are manufactured.”
He explained that NZ Post was depending on the sender to provide an accurate and complete declaration of the origin, so they could relay that information to US customs.
“That’s in part where this complexity comes in and, unfortunately, the reason why we’ve had to temporarily suspend services.”
Handcock said the tax will take effect on all parcels starting at the end of this week, except for gifts below a specified value.
“If it’s a consumer sending, so someone sending to their grandkids, provided that gift is worth less than US$100, they won’t have to pay duties and taxes.
He acknowledged that it was a high-trust system and emphasised the need for extra staff training to guarantee proper “checks and balances” were implemented.
Handcock explained that the new tariff would be recorded in New Zealand when the parcel is sent and then forwarded to US customs.
“That will all be calculated at this end by New Zealand post and charged back (to the sender).”
He expected gift shipments to resume within the next week to 10 days, with business shipments restarting in a matter of weeks rather than months.