Have you ordered something from overseas in the past month, but UPS won’t deliver it because of some paperwork issue? Has your package even been destroyed? You have President Donald Trump to thank for that.
President Trump ended what’s called the de minimis exemption on Aug. 29, which had previously allowed any package worth $800 or less to come into the U.S. without incurring special tariffs or fees. The de minimis exemption had been in place since the 1930s before Trump abolished it.
Each country now has a different tariff rate, making the implementation of this new rule an absolute nightmare for shipping companies. The rules aren’t based on anything logical either; instead, they’re being concocted based on absurd formulas by Trump that don’t make any sense.
And all of this confusion has been leading to some people having their packages destroyed, according to a new report from NBC News, as well as posts on social media platforms like Reddit and TikTok.
Customers are confused
“Completely heartbroken,” one Reddit user who was first told their package was destroyed posted to r/UPS. “This was a package from parents who sent personal clothing items and my 90 year old grandfather’s handwritten book.”
In an update, the Reddit user said they got a new message that insisted it wasn’t destroyed and would be returned to the sender, offering a bit of hope. But that hope was short-lived when, a day later, they got confirmation it had indeed been disposed of.
It’s a common story. A man in Boston spoke with NBC News and told them about a package he ordered from Japan on Sept. 12, which included Japanese language books, a pillow, and a backpack. After a couple of weeks of his package sitting in Louisville, Kentucky, he received a message from UPS: “We’re sorry, your package did not clear customs and has been removed from the UPS network. Per customs guidelines, it has been destroyed. Please contact the sender for more information.”
Even when packages aren’t destroyed, the fees that are being charged are often ridiculous. One Reddit user posted a screenshot showing they had an import fee of $769.32 on an order of $175 coming from the United Kingdom. Again, it’s all thanks to Trump.
Businesses are confused
Businesses from outside the U.S. are posting to platforms like TikTok about how their packages are being destroyed, making them much less willing to deal with the headaches of shipping to Americans in the first place. And there doesn’t seem to be much consistency when it comes to what’s destroyed versus what’s sent on to its final destination.
Canada’s The Organic House chocolate maker posted a TikTok video recently about 27 packages the company shipped to the U.S. on Sept. 2. They say two were delivered with tariffs and brokerage charges, four were delivered without tariffs, just brokerage charges, and the rest have been just sitting around with UPS. The packages sent to Kentucky were destroyed, according to the video.
“As a Canadian small business, these parcels being destroyed can absolutely damage our bottom line greatly,” the small business owner, Deanna Forder, said. “One of these packages was a wholesale order for $1,000. Not only did we pay to ship this, we now have to refund the customer and we are out the product. I don’t get it, UPS.”
The business was also skeptical that the chocolate was actually destroyed: “There is absolutely no way that this has been destroyed. $1,000 wholesale destroyed in chocolate? Mm-mm, somebody’s eating it. I am thoroughly convinced that one of you or a lot of you are sitting there snacking on our chocolate right now.”
Why your package might get destroyed in Kentucky
Louisville seems to be a real bottleneck for UPS, based on social media chatter, which makes sense given the fact that it’s UPS’s largest air hub.
Another video on TikTok about an order from South Korea discussed how they had a package destroyed there. The TikTok user says they paid the customs fee on their $160 order of beauty products but it was destroyed in Kentucky anyway after bouncing around, likely due to a paperwork declaration issue.
“They’re throwing away a $160 K Beauty order for which I definitely paid a customs fee so I don’t know what the fuck is going on. Obviously this is 99.9% Trump’s fault with this fuck ass tariffs,” the video said.
Trump changes tariffs on a dime
Trump first announced his shockingly high tariffs on April 2, which he deemed “liberation day.” And while the actual numbers have jumped around wildly since then, goods coming from every single country have been slapped with higher fees.
Trump has called them “reciprocal” tariffs, but he hit countries with tariffs that don’t even have any tariffs on U.S. goods. He also imposed tariffs on goods from countries that have a trade deficit with the U.S., meaning they buy more from Americans than they sell, the supposed crux of Trump’s issue with trade.
Australia, for example, has a trade deficit with the U.S. and still gets hit with a baseline 10% tariff on all goods shipped to America. And goods with steel and aluminum are even higher, at 50%. It’s not just big slabs of aluminum either. Do you have a plastic blender with metal parts? That could be hit with a tariff.
More goods get added randomly as Trump sees fit, with upholstered wood products, kitchen cabinets and vanities recently getting a 25% tariff that’s scheduled to start Oct. 14. So you can see how it might be confusing for a company like UPS to figure out what tariff should be charged based on the country it’s coming from and what kind of item it might be.
What actually happens to the destroyed packages?
UPS acknowledged the issues with Trump’s new tariff hurdles during a phone call with Gizmodo on Friday and sent a statement explaining that, “because of changes to U.S. import regulations, we are seeing many packages that are unable to clear customs due to missing or incomplete information about the shipment required for customs clearance.”
UPS says more than 90% of the packages it handles are cleared through customs on the first day. And when there are issues, the company says it makes multiple attempts to obtain the necessary information to send the package on its way.
“In cases where we cannot obtain the necessary information to clear the package, there are two options,” the UPS statement reads. “First, the package can be returned to the original shipper at their expense. Second, if the customer does not respond and the package cannot be cleared for delivery, disposing of the shipment is in compliance with US customs regulations. We continue to work to bridge the gap of understanding tied to the new requirements and, as always, remain committed to serving our customers.”
The company didn’t explain what it does specifically with packages when they’re destroyed, stating that it really depends on the kind of goods being handled. But the destruction of goods needs to be done in front of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, suggesting people aren’t just eating up $1,000 worth of chocolate.