DHL lifted its suspension of business-to-consumer shipments over $800 coming into the U.S. on Monday, according to an announcement from the logistics company.
"This decision follows constructive dialogue between DHL and the U.S. government, who demonstrated a strong willingness to understand our operational and technical challenges, and who agreed that it was imperative to act quickly in the interest of U.S. consumers," DHL said.
The company installed the suspension on April 21 due to shipping delays resulting from changes in U.S. trade regulations. DHL reported that formal customs clearances had begun applying to imports over $800 — a shift from the previous threshold of $2,500 — leading to multi-day transit delays.
Many goods over $250 lost informal entry eligibility on April 5 as a result of reciprocal tariffs and added duties tied to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Reynaldo Roman, senior director of regulatory compliance at Marken, said in a LinkedIn post last week. With the de minimis exemption still active and allowing for streamlined processing, however, DHL could still quickly import goods below $800.
Roman added that he expected other couriers to follow as they faced an increased workload of formal processing.
But the value threshold has once again increased to $2,500 following discussions with the U.S. government, allowing shipments below that amount to be cleared via the expedited informal entry process, according to DHL. This rollback led DHL to resume transporting B2C imports over $800 to the U.S.
"DHL Express values the opportunity to have contributed to the development of this new regulation by the U.S. government in favor of our customers, who have been our focus," the company said. "It is our priority to effectively support your needs, and we view this development as a positive step forward in continuing the facilitation of international trade."
However, U.S.-bound shipments may still face transit delays as DHL reinstates the service and works to clear its existing backlog, the company said.
