THE POSTAL CORPORATION of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG Post) has temporarily suspended the posting of parcels and packages to the United States of America, but Director of Postal Services, Jacqueline Adams-Ollivierre said this suspension does not affect the other destinations to which the postal services send items.
On Thursday, August 28, 2025, Adams-Ollivierre told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview that SVG Post was forced to suspend the posting of parcels and packets to the USA because the Trump administration removed a rule exempting packages worth under US$800 from tariffs/duties.
The Trump administration’s tariffs had previously not impacted the mailing of packages valued at less than US$800, which were exempted under “de minimis” rules, a Latin term referring to items too minor to worry about.
In July, this year the US president announced that he was removing “de minimis”, and that comes into effect from today, Friday, August 29, 2025.
The Executive Order issued by the president, fundamentally alters international shipping protocols, and many countries have temporality suspended shipping to the USA.
Adams-Ollivierre explained to SEARCHLIGHT that what the USA is now proposing is that postal corporations collect the applicable duties on packages being sent to the USA that are valued under US$800, and forward the money to the relevant authorities in the USA.
She said that due to the logistical challenges involved, SVG Post has temporarily placed a hold on certain processes to ensure clarity and compliance.
Adams-Ollivierre also noted that the new duty requirement is asking senders to pay duties on the items they are shipping and this duty has to be charged by the SVG Post. She said the duty can be calculated by utilizing a CDS data-entry system that categorizes items and automatically generates the applicable duties.
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