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Decision after U.S. scraps customs tax rule

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Letters and documents not affected

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Impact to be mostly felt by small businesses: expert

(Adds expert quotes in paragraphs 8-9, FedEx ( FDX ) comment in

paragraphs 12-13)

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Australia's postal service

said on Tuesday it had temporarily suspended parcel shipments to

the United States after President Donald Trump's administration

decided to scrap a customs tax rule that allowed low-value

packages to enter duty free.

The Australian government-owned Australia Post's move comes

after several European and Asian carriers, including Swiss Post

and DHL, which runs Germany's postal service Deutsche

Post, Japan Post and Korea Post paused shipments to the United

States because of the new rules.

"We are disappointed we have had to take this action,

however, due to the complex and rapidly evolving situation, a

temporary partial suspension has been necessary to allow us to

develop and implement a workable solution for our customers,"

Australia Post said in a statement.

The U.S. government said last month that packages valued at

or under $800 sent to the United States would face all

applicable duties from August 29 as it suspended a "de minimis"

exemption for low-value shipments.

Goods shipped through the postal system would face one of

two tariffs: either an "ad valorem duty" equal to the effective

tariff rate of the package's country of origin or, for six

months, a specific tariff of $80 to $200 depending on the

country of origin's tariff rate.

Packages sent to the U.S. and Puerto Rico lodged on or

after August 26 would not be accepted until further notice, the

postal service said. Gifts under $100, letters and documents are

unaffected by the change.

Australia Post said it would continue to work with the U.S.

and Australian authorities, and international postal partners to

resume services to the U.S. soon.

Nicola Charwat, Senior Lecturer at Monash University, said

the impact in Australia would be mostly felt by small businesses

that sell directly to U.S. consumers.

"This includes businesses specialising in sustainable

clothing and gifts, as well as distinctly Australian goods such

as cosmetics, food and wine. These parcels will now be subject

to a 10% baseline tariff," Charwat said.

Japan Post on Monday said it would suspend accepting some

postal items to the U.S. Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa said

the move would have "only a limited impact" on users as there

were alternative shipping methods.

South Korea has stopped shipping packages to the U.S. though

customers will be able to send through its partnership service

with UPS, Korea Post said last week.

FedEx's ( FDX ) Australian business said it continued

to accept and transport shipments to the United States.

"As an express carrier, our international express offerings

are not impacted by the decisions of postal operators," FedEx

Regional Vice President Peter Langley said in a statement.