What’s the cope with sending Christmas items from France to the US this yr?

In addition to asserting a 15 % tariff on EU items coming into the US, on the finish of July, the Trump administration introduced that it was ending the de minimis exemption, which beforehand allowed shipments despatched to the US valued beneath $800 to be duty-free. 

In response, postal providers internationally scrambled to reply, and France’s La Poste suspended sure varieties of parcel shipments to the US. 

What does all of this imply for Christmas items?

If you wish to ship a present you bought and packaged your self – from France to the US – then it’s best to put together forward of time and anticipate attainable adjustments alongside the way in which.

There is meant to be an exemption on items gadgets despatched between people which can be value lower than €80.

However, Americans in France have reported on social media that there’s nonetheless a number of confusion at native submit places of work about what is feasible by way of sending packages and letters to the US.

In October, one particular person on social media posted that that they had gone to their native submit workplace to mail a doc to the US, solely to be advised the submit workplace was not accepting any mail to the US. The social media person reported later testing out a special location and having no points sending the letter.

There have additionally been reviews of individuals sending packages in response to the brand new guidelines, solely to seek out that they have been caught at entry ports within the US, as customs and border safety try to cope with the onslaught of latest gadgets that want elevated inspection.

As such, if you wish to ship something to the US by Christmas, attempt to take action effectively forward of time.

What precisely are the present guidelines for sending gadgets to the US by way of La Poste?

The La Poste web site says “items at the moment are taxed beginning on the first greenback, whereas beforehand they benefited from duty-free allowances as much as $800.

“These duties at the moment are the duty of the sender, not the recipient, in contrast to in the remainder of the world, and should be paid to US Customs earlier than the gadgets enter the United States.

“Thus, like many different European postal operators, La Poste has briefly suspended sure shipments to the United States.”

When the US providers have been first suspended, La Poste was accepting solely letters/paperwork or parcels containing items with a price of lower than $80. However, it has now resumed shipments of parcels as much as the worth of €650 by way of the Colissimo parcel service. 

Here is the present listing of what La Poste says is feasible:

• Mail shipments of ONLY paperwork 
• Colissimo shipments (together with merchandise) as much as €650. Labels should be bought on the web site Laposte.fr. For shipments exceeding €650, in the event that they comprise a number of gadgets, you possibly can cut up the cargo into a number of packages. While attainable, this feature will improve the postage value. 
• Gift shipments solely between people with a price of lower than €80 per bundle
• Chronopost shipments

Colissimo is La Poste’s commonplace package-sending service. Chronopost is affiliated with La Poste, however is used for specific shipments or tracked parcels. 

As for letters, there was some confusion at submit places of work round France. 

After reviews from readers about issue buying stamps at submit places of work, The Local reached out to the press crew at La Poste for steering. They responded: “It remains to be attainable to ship mail containing solely paperwork and items (between people) value lower than $100 to the United States.

“Please observe that these shipments can solely be made on the counter (guichet) or by way of the laposte.fr web site. This service has been suspended on the automated machines.”

You must also nonetheless be capable to use any postage you’ve gotten already bought, in addition to buy stamps at tobacconists (tabacs).

How does the Colissimo web site work?

The Local examined out the Colissimo web site choice for making a delivery label, as it might now estimate your responsibility prices. 

Start by clicking “envoi vers une vacation spot internationale“. Then choose États-Unis. From there, you’ll need your tackle and make contact with data, in addition to the recipient’s, plus the dimensions and weight of the bundle.

At this level, you may see the estimated worth with out responsibility added on.

After that, you may be prompted to fill out the customs kind. You have to specify if the merchandise is a present or merchandise. Then, you’ll want to describe the merchandise in an effort to discover the tariff schedule. You can even look this up by yourself on-line.

If you’ve gotten a number of gadgets, begin by filling out the knowledge for Objet 1, then add Objet 2 and so forth. You might want to give estimates of the worth of every merchandise, the place you bought it and its weight.

Once you’ve gotten performed that, you will notice a revised worth with the responsibility and dealing with charges calculated, along with delivery prices. 

For instance, The Local declared an ordinary bundle dimension of 6kg containing a present (child garments and books) value €45. 

The preliminary delivery prices have been €142, and the necessary dealing with price was €1. Duty was not utilized because the present was lower than €80.

However, The Local tried once more with a bundle of items listed as value €120. In this case, the preliminary delivery prices have been €142, and with responsibility added on, that elevated to €160.30.

Try to get the customs declaration info proper the primary time. The web site is vulnerable to ‘error’ messages, and in the event you get one, you may have to begin over.

Once you’ve gotten performed all of this, it’s best to be capable to make the fee after which print out the sticker. In idea, it’s best to be capable to mail your bundle at your native submit workplace.

What can I ship with different courier corporations?

You can nonetheless ship packages and letters by different cargo corporations, like DHL, FedEx and UPS, in the event you choose.

These web sites ought to push you to fill out the customs declaration info earlier than you may make fee and print out the sticker.

What about sending items via an organization or web site?

If you wish to ship a present that you simply bought on-line by way of a French-based firm, then they could provide to estimate responsibility costs for you, alongside the delivery prices.

However, smaller corporations are unlikely to supply this service. As such, it might not be attainable to ship items from French web sites to folks within the US. 

Retailers have additionally reported main cargo delays because of “frequent coverage adjustments and the fast implementation of so many new guidelines”, in response to New York Magazine. 

If you wish to purchase a present for a member of the family or good friend within the US on-line, you would possibly contemplate buying it on a US web site. For instance, purchase a present on Amazon US, not Amazon France.

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Christmas submit deadlines haven’t but been finalised, however final yr the deadline for sending to the US from France was December thirteenth – nonetheless as a result of added complexity this yr, it is suggested to not depart it till the final minute.

Anything else to know?

Remember that there are additionally restrictions when mailing issues to and from the US. Prohibited gadgets embrace alcoholic drinks, pharmaceutical merchandise not accredited by the American administration. You can discover the complete listing right here.

So far, the private exemption for items carried with you on by way of airplane again to the US has not modified, however it’s best to control the Customs and Border Protection web site.

Have you despatched a bundle or letter from France to the US just lately? If so, please inform us about your expertise within the feedback beneath.