It’s August 25, 2025 and the change is live. Spain’s postal operator Correos has stopped accepting parcels worth $800 or less to the United States and Puerto Rico.
The pause follows a US rule change that scraps the long-running ‘de minimis’ duty-free allowance for low-value imports.
Correos closed the gate at 23:59 on Sunday August 24. If your parcel wasn’t admitted by then, it’ll have to wait while systems are adapted to collect duties in advance and capture extra customs data.
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US scraps the $800 rule: why Correos pulled the plug
From August 29, all goods entering the US and Puerto Rico will face customs duties, with rates tied to the item’s value and country of origin. That flips the old model on its head and forces postal operators to rebuild workflows – more checks, more data, and new links with customs.
Until those upgrades are in place, Correos (like several European posts) has pressed pause on the low-value stream.
Who’s most affected? Small sellers and marketplace shippers sending inexpensive items to US customers – plus private senders posting gifts or small purchases.
What Correos will still accept today
Not everything is blocked. You can still post:
Letters and documents with no commercial value
Books
Gifts between private individuals up to $100
Shipments over $800 aren’t part of the temporary block, but remember they’ll be assessed for duties under the new US regime.
How to handle Correos’ US suspension – actions and next moves
Short term:
Hold low-value US/Puerto Rico parcels or switch to documents/books where possible.
Warn customers in the US about the rule change and potential duties once parcel services resume.
Re-price future US orders to include duty/handling and allow extra time.
Medium term:
Correos says it’s working with international partners to enable duty collection at origin and the new data hand-offs the US now requires. There’s no restart date yet, but the operator has promised regular updates and a swift return once the tech is ready.
As of today, the cheap-parcel pipeline to the US is paused. Plan around it, expect duties on all US-bound goods when services resume, and give yourself a little extra time – and paperwork – for anything heading stateside.
