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\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nThe de minimis exemption \u2014 which excludes imports worth US$800 or less from tariffs \u2014 will expire Friday, exposing billions of dollars in deliveries to new import levies.<\/p>\n
Deliveries from Australia are no exception, with those exports set to attract a 10% baseline tariff, or a flat US$80 fee,<\/a> whichever is higher.<\/p>\n Crucially, transportation carriers are expected to collect and remit those charges to American authorities before the deliveries reach US soil.<\/p>\n \tSmarter business news. Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n \n For startup founders, small businesses and leaders. Build sharper instincts and better strategy by learning from Australia\u2019s smartest business minds. Sign up for free. <\/p>\n By continuing, you agree to our Terms & Conditions<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Like other international carriers, Australia Post is yet to implement a system capable of collecting and processing those tariffs.<\/p>\n A temporary suspension is \u201cnecessary to allow us to develop and implement a workable solution for our customers,\u201d said Australia Post executive Gary Starr.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralia Post continues to work with US and Australian authorities and international postal partners to resume postal service to the US as a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Australia Post is working with cross-border commerce startup Zonos on a solution that, when launched, will allow Business Contract and My Post Business customers to resume their US deliveries.<\/p>\n Exporters consider alternatives for US shipping<\/p>\n Exporters are reconsidering their US delivery plans and fear extended Australia Post disruptions, on top of the new US tariffs, could harm their business.<\/p>\n Maria Baker, founder of Australian snow apparel brand Nobody\u2019s Princess, said the decision will affect crucial deliveries ahead of the US ski season.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a backlog of some pre-orders that are due to actually go out in a week\u2019s time,\u201d she told SmartCompany.<\/p>\n The American customer base is crucial for Nobody\u2019s Princess, with US sales now equal to its sales across Australia, New Zealand, and its other international markets.<\/p>\n She said the decision is now \u201cwhether I just cancel and refund, or I wear the huge cost that it would take to send it through a courier instead, so that they can still get the product\u201d.<\/p>\n Shipping through third-party couriers is an option, but the cost would chew into Nobody\u2019s Princess\u2019 margins.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s assuming that the customers in the US will be happy to pay the tariffs, because at the moment, the tariffs are basically adding another 30%, 40% on top of the price,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Baker said the business is growing, but is not yet large enough to move to a third-party logistics provider capable of handling tariff payment and remittance.<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t have the volume to satisfy their time and effort,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For now, Baker is holding out for firm answers from Australia Post \u2014 and the US administration, which levelled the tariffs in the first place.<\/p>\n After years of steady growth and a clear product-market fit, Baker is confident Nobody\u2019s Princess is carving a unique place in the snow apparel market.<\/p>\n But if a viable plan for US deliveries does not appear, \u201cI don\u2019t know what my business is going to do for the next 12 months, if it\u2019s going to be able to continue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cReally, that\u2019s the scary reality.\u201d<\/p>\n Personal connections under strain<\/p>\n Erstwilder, an Australian manufacturer of brooches, earrings, and necklaces, commands a strong US following and is preparing for its Halloween product launch.<\/p>\n However, the Australia Post decision caused the brand to temporarily pause shipments to one of its biggest markets. <\/p>\n \u201cThe US is essential for our business,\u201d said Erstwilder co-owner and CFO Adam Lubitz.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re our second-biggest market, and our feeling would be if we\u2019re not able to resume with Australia Post in the next seven to eight days, we\u2019ll look at other options with other carriers.\u201d<\/p>\n After shifting from DHL to Australia Post in April, the business hopes the government-owned carrier will find a solution to its payment and remittance system soon.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think the best bit right now is still Australia Post, once we get through some of the backend and admin side of how these taxes need to be collected and paid,\u201d said Lubitz.<\/p>\n Beyond business alone, Lubitz said the new tariff regime and the difficulty transportation carriers are facing will personally affect customers with an emotional connection to the brand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey might wear them to chemotherapy treatment. They often wear them as little emblems of bravery themselves,\u201d said Lubitz.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd there was an enormous amount of emotion from our community in America. <\/p>\n \u201cReally, the feeling was sort of a goodbye. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re keen to see what will happen, and we\u2019re confident things will reopen.\u201d<\/p>\n Clear communication vital<\/p>\n Retail industry expert and consultant Dean Salakas has watched the situation unfold in his 1,500-member-strong WhatsApp group, where industry luminaries discussed how to handle the Australia Post decision.<\/p>\n Exporters flocking to third-party carriers could only cause further delays for US customers, he said.<\/p>\n Salakas said small businesses should communicate those challenges clearly with their US customers.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re communicating that to their customers, then that\u2019s great, because at least they\u2019ve given them a heads up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not going to have this mass issue at the other end, when you send something and tell [customers] it will take a few days and it takes a few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two days after Australia Post suspended deliveries to the United States, exporters rocked by the announcement are seeking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,60996,44,4243],"class_list":["post-101185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-post","tag-news","tag-us-tariffs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}