Why has Postage to the US Increased by One Dollar?

Last night’s shipping costs are about to nudge upward for anyone sending packages to the United States. The Belize Postal Service is adding a one‑dollar fee to every U.S.-bound parcel after getting the green light from Cabinet, an adjustment officials say is needed to cover new expenses tied to U.S. regulations. Those changes trace back to a July 2025 executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, which revoked the long‑standing duty‑free exemption for goods under eight hundred U.S. dollars. As of late August, every international package entering the U.S. must declare its contents, value, and origin, and all of it is now subject to duties. To understand what this means for Belizean shippers, we spoke with Postmaster General Dr. Marsha Price.

 

On the Phone: Dr. Marsha Price, Postmaster General, Belize Postal Services

“With the new process of shipping back to the United States, then we have to utilize due to deliver paid system, global solution. So with that solution, now we have to incur fees to, for the use of that, for sending shipment back to the US because they had to develop this new solution and that is what we’ll be using. It’s just for that purpose.”

 

 

Britney Gordon

”Can you tell me a little bit about this system and how exactly it benefits the entire service?”

 

On the Phone: Dr. Marsha Price

“Now the system actually calculates what the US customs duties are, along with the relevant fees. So customers now from their home can be able to see all of these fax before coming into the post office to ship their items. So that is what this new system does. So it allows them to see what type of items they’re shipping, their HS codes and all custom duties fees that will be paid to the third party zoner. So that is what thus new global solution that was designed by the Universal Postal Union.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And do we think that this one dollar increase adequately covers the additional expenses that are incurred based on this new system?

 

On the Phone: Dr. Marsha Price

“For now, yes. For now, that is what we’ve, we foresee.”

 

As Belizeans adjust to this new system, postal officials say the one‑dollar fee helps keep U.S.-bound shipping running smoothly while covering the added costs of complying with tightened American regulations.