By Norma Connolly

Copyright caymancompass

When the Cayman Islands Postal Service resumes accepting packages to the United States from customers, potentially by the start of next month, it will entail quite a bit more red tape than previously.

Sending a present to a relative or friend in the US won’t be as simple as just wrapping it up and buying a stamp, as even lower-value personal gifts that have been newly purchased will also be subject to the new tariff rules, the local postal service says.

A ‘Key Facts’ document which outlines advice to Cayman customers notes that only “bona fide gifts” valued up to US$100 that have been “previously owned or homemade” by the sender are exempt from the duty fees, adding that “gifts do not include items that have been purchased regardless of their value”.

In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order abolishing the ‘de minimis’ exemption that had previously allowed goods and merchandise valued at under US$800 into the country duty free. This came into effect last month, sending postal services worldwide, including in Cayman, scrambling to put new custom duty-collection systems and procedures in place.

All mail to the US was initially suspended, but letters and other documents can now be sent.

Sheena Glasgow, the postmaster general at the Cayman Islands Postal Services, says local post offices from this week are expected to start accepting US-bound packages containing merchandise from existing bulk-service customers through its Express Mail Service, or EMS, as they already have shipping procedures in place. She anticipates other customers will be able to begin sending EMS packages to the US from the week of 30 Sept.

Testing the system

The new procedures, which include refundable deposits and an additional fee to send goods to the US, are being rolled out, and the local postal service is continuing to test its revamped systems.

Glasgow said postal staff successfully dispatched three sample parcels to the US on 15 Sept., to “test the process from customer acceptance to dispatch to the US and clearance of US Customs under the new tariff system”.

“Once EMS service functions as intended for all our customers, I will advise dates for resumption of parcel service to the USA,” she said.

To deal with the “very fluid” situation, Glasgow said this phased approach was necessary.

“Once I am comfortable that the CIPS’ new processes function as designed and also keep the Cayman Islands fully compliant with the US executive order, full services will be restored to all postal facilities as it was prior to 29 August 2025, when the executive order became effective,” Glasgow said.

Limited initial service

Over the coming weeks, only five post offices will be accepting packages to the US. These are the Seven Mile Beach, General, Savannah, West End and Little Cayman post offices, she said.

Glasgow added that the Airport Post Office would only be accepting packages from known shippers, as that post office’s customer service area “is very small, so this customer restriction is intended to keep to a minimum service inconvenience to customers conducting other business there while we all adjust to this new normal for goods going to the USA”.

The Cayman Islands Postal Service is advising its customers that all exports of merchandise from the Cayman Islands into the US will likely now incur customs duties and charges, “no matter how small the shipment’s value”.

“You will have the normal postage, additional charges and a refundable deposit when posting your package,” the ‘Key Facts’ document notes.

Duties and tariffs will be assessed on all goods being sent to the US, including
purchased gifts and samples, and it is the exported item’s country of origin or manufacture that determines the US duty rate that the Cayman Islands Postal Service must assess and collect from customers at the time of posting.

New procedures

To avoid delays, the local postal service is advising customers to complete their customs declaration using the mobile app ‘EAD Customs Declaration’, and then email the declaration ID and supporting invoices to cipsexports@gov.ky.

After that step has been completed, the postal service will contact the customer with the assessed duty/tariff and the deposit required, based on the information provided in the declaration.

Once the customer receives a quote of the charges, the customer should bring the quote and the unsealed package to the post office, where it must be inspected by counter staff before being sealed and posted.

The postal service advised, “Wait for confirmation that the package has cleared US Customs. If no additional fees were assessed on the package by US Customs, the CIPS will then return any unused portion of your deposit in cash.”

It added that, with the new procedures in place, “Customs compliance and accurate declaration of goods are now more important than ever.”