Business Sending to the United States

Yes, Economy, Economy Tracked Economy Plus, and Courier services have reopened. These now send as Delivered Duty Paid (DDP), with duties and taxes charged to your account.

To meet US Customs rules, there are a few changes: 

Duties and taxes are paid by the sender: 

• You’ll see these charges on your invoice, along with a $5 admin fee and a 5% disbursement fee per consignment.

You must provide detailed data:  

• Harmonised Tariff Code, country of origin, and accurate item descriptions. If you want to read a little more about how our Tariff Lookup API could make this easier for your team, visit our Tariff Lookup API page. 

Electronic labelling is requiredI

• We encourage you to use eShip or integrate with our API to make this easy for your business. Find more details online on our eShip page, and check out more information on our Parcel Label API page. 

Sending of gifts remains unavailable: 

• Strict rules are in place to qualify as a genuine gift for US Customs and Border Protection, so NZ Post does not accept gift sending from Businesses into the US. 

Here are a couple of steps to stay compliant and keep sending easy for your teams:   

1. Update your checkout to show duties and taxes before your customers complete their purchase.  
2. Ensure you’re set up to provide:  

• Country of origin (where your goods were made)   
• Clear and accurate item descriptions   
• The full 10-digit Harmonised Tariff Code. Make this easier for you and your team by using our Tariff Look Up API to help classify your goods. If you want to read a little more about this API, and integrate with it if you’d like to, visit our Tariff Lookup API page.

No, they remain duty-free, but only if they meet Universal Postal Union (UPU) definitions of letters and documents. Goods can’t be sent under these services.  

Make sure you’re familiar with how the UPU defines documents and Goods:  

• Documents: any piece of written, drawn, printed or digital information, excluding objects of merchandise 

• Goods: item consisting of any tangible and movable object other than money, including objects of merchandise, which does not fall under the definition of "documents" 

For more detail on UPU definitions of letters and documents, see paragraphs 1.4 and 1.5 of the UPU convention manual, which you can read online anytime

If you’re interested in a commercial sending option, Courier Select_US is available for on-account business customers. Designed to help navigate the new US import rules, it offers a streamlined, transparent way to ship to the US with duties and taxes, fully managed.  

It includes: 

• Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) charged to your account 

• Tracking from dispatch to delivery 

• Sending up to 22kg 

• Delivery target of 4–9 working days (continental US), 5–12 days (Hawaii and Alaska) 

See more on Courier Select_US. 

Yes:  

• Items requiring FDA approval (e.g. food, health supplements, medication) cannot be sent  

• Only available when sending to continental US, Hawaii, and Alaska. It is not currently available in other US territories.  

• Maximum dimensions and value limits apply. Please check the terms and conditions  

Courier Select_US is available now if you use NZ Post shipping tools, like Parcel Label API and eShip. If you use other platforms, please check with your provider for availability.  

Here’s how to get set up: 

API Integration:   

• Before you can print labels for this service, you need to ensure it has been loaded on to your account; speak to your business manager to arrange this.  
• You will need to add the service code for Courier Select_US - ICOUSUS. Once added, Courier Select_US will appear as an option when selecting your service. If you require further information on how to integrate with our labelling API, visit our developer centre.  

eShip:   

• Before you can print labels for this service, you need to ensure it has been loaded on to your account; speak to your business manager to arrange this. 
• To start printing labels for Courier Select_US, you will need to add ICOUSUS to your account. Details on how to do this can be found here. Once added, Courier Select_US will appear as an option when selecting your service. 

From 29 August (Eastern Standard Time), all items arriving in the US are subject to duties and taxes, regardless of value. This is due to changes introduced by the US Government, including the removal of the duty-free threshold and new tariffs for imports. 

Yes, it does. The change affects all items entering the US from New Zealand, all items are subject to duties and taxes, regardless of their type or value.

We’ll continue to monitor the situation closely, keeping a close eye on any impact to deliveries. There may be some minor delays in the short term as backlogs are processed and dispatched.  For the latest delivery updates please continue to check this page.  

We understand this is a significant change and may raise questions. We’re here to support you. If you’d like to talk through what this means for your business, please reach out with any questions or concerns, we’re happy to help.

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