Current Events > UPS is disposing of packages due to customs paperwork issues

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/ups-delay-customs-tariffs-packages-destroyed-rcna236607

Thousands of U.S.-bound packages shipped by UPS are trapped at hubs across the country, unable to clear the maze of new customs requirements imposed by the Trump administration.

As packages flagged for customs issues pile up in UPS warehouses, the company told NBC News it has begun disposing of some shipments.

Frustrated UPS customers describe waiting for weeks and trying to make sense of scores of conflicting tracking updates from the worlds largest courier.

Ive never seen anything like this before, Matthew Wasserbach, brokerage manager of Express Customs Clearance, said of the UPS backlog. Its totally unprecedented.

Wasserbachs New York City-based shipping services firm helps clients move shipments through customs. He said the company has seen a spike in inquiries for help with UPS customs clearance.

More than two dozen people who are waiting for their UPS packages explained the circumstances of their shipments to NBC News.

They described shipments of tea, telescopes, luxury glassware, musical instruments and more some worth tens of thousands of dollars all in limbo or perhaps gone.

Others have deep sentimental value: notebooks, diplomas and even engagement rings.

The frustration has exploded online, with customers sharing horror stories on Reddit of missing skin care products, art and collectibles.

They are confused and angry, and they want answers.

Packages destroyed?
Its almost impossible to get through to anybody to figure out what is happening, said Ashley Freberg, who said she is missing several boxes she shipped via UPS from England in September.

Are my packages actually being destroyed or not?

While sentimental value is impossible to measure, other customers fear they will not be able to recover financially if their goods were destroyed.

Tea importer Lauren Purvis of Portland, Oregon, said five shipments from Japan, mostly containing matcha green tea and collectively worth more than $127,000, were all sent via UPS over the last few weeks and arrived at UPS international package processing hub in Louisville, Kentucky. Purvis has yet to receive any of the shipments, only a flurry of conflicting tracking updates from UPS.

A series of notifications for one shipment, which she shared with NBC News, said that the shipment had not cleared customs and that UPS had disposed of it.

International shipping was thrown into chaos after the long-standing de minimis tariff exemption for low-value packages ended on Aug. 29.

Packages with values of $800 or less, which were previously allowed to enter the United States duty-free, are now subject to a range of tariffs and fees.

They include hundreds of country-specific rates, or President Donald Trumps so-called reciprocal tariffs, as well as new levies on certain products and material.

Cerneas decision to switch carriers hints at the worst-case scenario for UPS, which is that people could abandon the company. It is a potential crisis for the roughly $70 billion company.

The companys stock price is already down more than 30% this year, which analysts attribute to a mix of tariffs, competition and shifting shopping habits.

Yet another thing broken by Trump. Here's a reminder there are 10 weeks until Christmas. The shit show has likely just started.

If stuff is being destroyed because it's deemed abandoned, that's one thing. If they're destroying stuff because UPS itself can't clear their own backlog or are giving customers confusing information, then that's completely fucked up.

We torpedoed our economy for nothing.

Friendly reminder Trump is a russian asset.

For me it wasn't UPS, it was DHL, but I was a bit blindsided by getting an e-mail about a package from the UK that was basically "hey give us more money" and had to go through that whole process, which wasn't super confusing, but makes me realize how few people are prepared for this new mess of red tape thanks to a selfish bag of dicks in the White House.

I have a small package coming from Ireland. Had my fingers crossed waiting for the tracker to say customs declared and sent to delivery partner.