Small businesses, including fashion brands, are losing income amid the ongoing suspension of shipments to the United States following President Donald Trump’s ‘de minimis’ scrapping.
This is according to the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), which added that services are not expected to fully resume until September 25 later this month.
Australia Post, one of the key providers of delivery services to small businesses, temporarily suspended some postal services to the U.S. and its overseas territories, including Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
The postal company confirmed earlier this week that it will resume postal sending to the U.S. and its overseas territories on or before September 25.
COSBOA chair Matthew Addison said the disruption is due to new tariff and administrative requirements on small parcels entering the US, which have temporarily affected the ability of postal operators worldwide to continue processing these shipments. This includes the scrapping of the ‘de minimis’ exemption, which exempted shipments valued below US$800 to pay duty payments.
“Small businesses have been unable to fulfil customer orders to the U.S. for almost a month, resulting in lost income, delayed deliveries, and the need to rebuild customer confidence,” Addison said.
Around 26 countries have faced similar disruptions as postal operators adjust to these new requirements, COSBOA added. Australian small businesses in sectors such as fashion, gifts, food and wine, and specialty retail have been particularly affected, as many rely heavily on exports to the U.S. market.
“For many micro and small businesses, these export markets are critical. Unlike larger companies, they don’t have the flexibility to switch couriers or absorb higher freight costs, so any disruption can have a very real impact on their operations,” Addison said.
While Australia Post has indicated shipments should resume later this month following the introduction of a new duty collection system via a third-party provider, the freeze has already created a backlog of orders and ongoing uncertainty for small operators.
COSBOA is calling on the Australian Government to act quickly to resolve the underlying tariff and administrative barriers affecting small-value shipments to the U.S., so that small businesses can regain certainty and continue trading smoothly.
“With 2.5 million small businesses employing almost 5 million Australians and contributing around one-third of our GDP, it’s vital that the government acts swiftly to remove these barriers and support small exporters,” Addison said.
COSBOA added it will continue to work with its members, government, and industry stakeholders to ensure the voices of small businesses are heard and that safeguards are in place to prevent similar disruptions in the future.