04/24/2025
The logistics giant explained that “the stop starting today is temporary and necessary to adapt to the changes taking place”
Brussels – DHL Express, the international logistics division of Deutsche Post, will suspend all business-to-consumer (B2C) shipments over $800 to the United States starting Monday, April 21, 2025. The move comes in response to new US customs rules that significantly lower the threshold for formal customs processing from $2,500 to $800.
In a statement on its website, DHL said the suspension “is temporary and necessary to adapt to ongoing changes.”
Business-to-business (B2B) shipments will continue, but may be delayed . Shipments under $800 will not be affected for businesses or consumers.
The updated customs rules follow the US government’s decision to remove tariff exemptions for packages from China and Hong Kong, a move that sparked backlash from trading partners. Hong Kong Post last week suspended sea mail services for goods destined for the United States, accusing Washington of “bullying” and warning senders of “exorbitant and unreasonable fees.”
DHL (originally named after Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational logistics brand, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, delivering over 1.7 billion parcels per year. A subsidiary and the namesake of DHL Group, its express mail service DHL Express is one of the market leaders for parcel services in Europe. DHL also operates a separate parcel service targeting the German consumer market in conjunction with Deutsche Post.
The company DHL itself was founded in San Francisco, United States in 1969 and expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s. DHL is an initialism of the surnames of the original company’s founders.
The company was primarily interested in offshore and intercontinental deliveries, but the success of FedEx prompted DHL’s own domestic (intra-US) expansion starting in 1983. In 1998, Deutsche Post began to acquire shares in DHL. It reached controlling interest in 2001, and acquired all outstanding shares by December 2002.The company then absorbed DHL into its Express division, while expanding the use of the DHL brand to other Deutsche Post divisions, business units, and subsidiaries. Today, DHL Express shares its DHL brand with business units such as DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain. It gained a foothold in the United States when it acquired Airborne Express in 2003.