Effective Jan. 1, the U.S. government will refuse to clear international mail parcel shipments if electronic documentation allowing U.S. Customs officials to check for illegal opioids isn’t transmitted in advance of the shipment’s arrival. Despite having more than two years to prepare, the international postal supply chain will likely miss the deadline.
It is still unclear what level of information Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal agency responsible for clearing goods into U.S. commerce, will require of international posts that originate the shipments. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which accepts parcels and mail from foreign posts and moves them into the U.S., is not clear on the compliance requirements from CBP. There has also been little guidance on how to handle the undetermined number of shipments that may be refused entry for failing to either provide the required data or transmitting the data electronically in advance of the shipment’s arrival.