European postal services suspend parcel shipments to the US due to tariffs.

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 24, 2025, p. 14

Athens. The end of a tariff exemption for low-value packages entering the United States is causing several international postal services to pause shipments while they await further clarity on the regulations.

The waiver, known as the "de minimis" exemption, allows packages valued under $800 to enter the United States duty-free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were shipped in 2024 under this exemption, for goods valued at $64.6 billion, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The Trump administration announced it will abolish the tax exemption on small packages entering the United States starting August 29. As a result, postal services across Europe announced on Saturday that they are suspending shipments of many packages to the United States amid confusion over the new import tariffs.

Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Italy said they will stop shipping most goods to the United States effective immediately. France and Austria will do the same on Monday, and the United Kingdom on Tuesday. Items originating in the United Kingdom with a value over $100 will incur a 10 percent tariff, the postal service said.

“Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how data transmission to U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out,” DHL, Europe’s largest shipping provider, said in a statement. It detailed that starting Saturday, “it will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from commercial customers destined for the United States.”

A trade framework agreed upon by the United States and the European Union last month established a 15 percent tariff on the vast majority of products shipped from the EU. Packages valued at less than $800 will now also be subject to the tariff.

The U.S. tariff exemption for goods originating in China ended in May as part of Trump's orders to discourage American buyers from ordering low-value Chinese goods. The exemption is being extended to shipments worldwide.

India also cancels

The Indian government also announced on Saturday that it will temporarily suspend postal shipments to the United States. Airlines bound for the United States declared their inability to accept postal shipments after August 25, 2025, citing a lack of operational and technical readiness.

▲ The Spanish firm Iberdrola, through its British subsidiary Scottish Power, took a decisive step in the implementation of its East Anglia 3 offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Suffolk (United Kingdom), in the North Sea, while the Danish company Orsted suffered a new setback when its project near Rhode Island in the US was suspended. Photo Europa Press

Reuters

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 24, 2025, p. 14

The Trump administration has ordered Danish company Orsted to halt construction of an offshore wind project near Rhode Island, a move that threatens to deepen the company's financial woes.

With construction frozen at 80 percent completion, Orsted has no immediate avenue for revenue generation, increasing pressure on the company, which will seek to shore up its finances through an emergency rights issue worth $9.4 billion.

The stop-work order, issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), is the latest government attempt to thwart renewable energy development in the United States and the second time this year that the Department of the Interior, which oversees BOEM, has halted a major offshore wind project.

"Orsted is evaluating all options to resolve the matter expeditiously," the company said in a statement. It added that it is reviewing the financial implications of the order and considering legal action.

The company said it will inform the market "in due course" about the potential impact on its plans to carry out the rights issue. A spokesperson for the company, which is 50.1 percent owned by the Danish state, declined to comment further.

On his first day in office in January, President Donald Trump suspended new offshore wind project licensing pending environmental and economic review. He has also repeatedly criticized wind energy as ugly, unreliable, and expensive.

Orsted's $1.5 billion Revolution Wind project was scheduled to be completed next year and produce enough electricity to power 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut. All foundations, as well as 45 of the 65 wind turbines, had already been installed, according to the company.

According to the letter, signed by Acting BOEM Director Matthew Giacona, the halt order is due to unspecified national security concerns stemming from the government's review of offshore wind projects in federal waters.

Reuters

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 24, 2025, p. 14

The American soft drink company Coca-Cola is working with investment bank Lazard to review options, including a possible sale, of the British chain Costa Coffee, which it acquired in 2018 for more than $5 billion, Sky News reported yesterday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Coca-Cola, Costa, and Lazard did not respond to requests for comment.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola has held initial talks with a small number of potential bidders for Costa, including private equity firms, Sky News reported, citing unidentified sources.

Failed bet

The report indicated that indicative offers are expected in early fall, although it noted that Coca-Cola could ultimately decide not to proceed with the sale.

Costa Coffee operates in 50 countries, with more than 2,700 coffee shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland and more than 1,300 establishments worldwide, according to its website.

Coca-Cola acquired the chain more than six years ago to strengthen its commitment to healthier beverages and compete with Starbucks and Nestlé in the global coffee market.