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The end of an exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages coming into the United States is causing multiple international postal services to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the rule.The exemption, known as the “de minimis” exemption, allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency.It is set to expire on Friday. On Saturday, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid confusion over new import duties.Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy said they will stop shipping most merchandise to the U.S. effective immediately. France and Austria will follow on Monday.The U.K.’s Royal Mail said it would halt shipments to the U.S. on Tuesday to allow time for those packages to arrive before duties kick in. Items originating in the United Kingdom worth over $100 including gifts to friends and family will incur a 10% duty, it 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 the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out,” DHL, the largest shipping provider in Europe, said in a statement.The company said starting Saturday it “will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from business customers destined for the US.”A trade framework agreed on by the U.S. and the European Union last month set a 15% tariff on the vast majority of products shipped from the EU. Packages under $800 will now also be subject to the tariff.The U.S. duty-free exemption for goods originating from China ended in May as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to curb American shoppers from ordering low-value Chinese goods. The exemption is being extended to shipments from around the world.Many European postal services say they are pausing deliveries now because they cannot guarantee the goods will enter the U.S. before Aug. 29. They cite ambiguity about what kind of goods are covered by the new rules, and the lack of time to process their implications.Postnord, the Nordic logistics company, and Italy’s postal service announced similar suspensions effective Saturday.“In the absence of different instructions from US authorities Poste Italiane will be forced, like other European postal operators, to temporarily suspend acceptance of all shipments containing goods destined for the United States, starting August 23. Mail shipments not containing merchandise will continue to be accepted,” Poste Italiane said Friday.Shipping by services such as DHL Express remains possible, it added.Björn Bergman, head of PostNord’s Group Brand and Communication, said the pause was “unfortunate but necessary to ensure full compliance of the newly implemented rules.”In the Netherlands, PostNL spokesperson Wout Witteveen said the Trump administration is pressing ahead with the new duties despite U.S. authorities lacking a system to collect them. He said that PostNL is working closely with its U.S. counterparts to find a solution.“If you have something to send to America, you should do it today,” Witteveen told The Associated Press.Austrian Post, Austria’s leading logistics and postal service provider, stated that the last acceptance of commercial shipments to the U.S., including Puerto Rico, will take place Tuesday.France’s national postal service, La Poste, said the U.S. did not provide full details or allow enough time for the French postal service to prepare for new customs procedures.“Despite discussions with U.S. customs services, no time was provided to postal operators to re-organize and assure the necessary computer updates to conform to the new rules,” it said in a statement.PostEurop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, said that if no solution can be found by Aug. 29 all its members will likely follow suit. Anderson reported from New York. Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris; Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece; Stephanie Lichtenstein in Vienna; Brian Melley in London and Molly Quell in Amsterdam contributed to this report. Demetris Nellas and Mae Anderson, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Its official: No matter how crowded the store shelves and bodega fridges get, were all still very thirsty. But not just for waterflavored water, immunity-boosted water, protein-enhanced water, alkaline water, hydration powders that supercharge water, and more. The market for water enhancement products is expected to grow from $2.1 billion this year to $4.3 billion by 2035. Liquid I.V. has established itself as a leader in the hydration powder segment of this market, thanks to clever branding that’s made it ubiquitous everywhere from the wellness crowd to music festivals. Since it was acquired by Unilever in 2020, the brand has quadrupled its business. Now, Liquid I.V. is moving beyond just hydration with the launch of a sugar-free energy option of its flavored powder that could help it break into the energy drink market. To counter the abundance of taurine and the increasingly nuclear colors of leading energy drinks, Liquid I.V. touts its newest option as a hydration-first energy solution made with natural caffeineand without sugar or artificial sweeteners. When this company started in 2012, the powdered hydration category was very sleepy, tired, dusty, virtually nonexistent, says CEO Mike Keech. Liquid I.V. came on the scene, reimagined and reinvented the category to new heights. So when we think about growth and continuing to innovate, the sugar-free energy solution was really a natural next step. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Liquid I.V. (@liquidiv) Liquid I.V.’s energy opportunity Liquid drink enhancers lead all unit sales growth for Gen Z in the beverage category, and are second for millennials, according to the research firm Circana. Energy enhancers are leading that growth across all generations. In its own research, Liquid I.V. found that 92% of Americans are looking for hydration, focus, and balanced energy without too much of a caffeine jolt. Sally Lyons Wyatt, global EVP and consumer goods and food service analyst at Circana, says the energy drink category continues to see consistent growth because there are a growing number of less intense options. There was a lot of flak several years ago because of the high sugar component, as well as too much caffeine, Wyatt says. Now there are a variety of options that might be lower in sugar and caffeine, which has helped continue the growth of this category. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Liquid I.V. (@liquidiv) Mellowing out the energy drink market This is exactly why Liquid I.V. is jumping in. The brands growth comes from people using it for increased hydration for health, during and after exercise, and around their nightlife habits. Here, Keech sees an opportunity to be a more nuanced brand among the adrenaline-fueled likes of Monster and Red Bull, which contain 160 milligrams and 151 milligrams of caffeine, respectively, per 16 fluid ounces. Available in two flavorsstrawberry kiwi and blackberry lemonadeeach stick of the new Liquid I.V. option (recommended to mix with 16 fluid ounces of water) contains 100 milligrams of caffeine, zero sugar, and no artificial sweeteners or colors. The brand also says it has five essential vitamins and three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink. Rather than synthetic caffeine, Liquid I.V.’s energy comes from coffeeberry extract and CognatiQ (a patented coffee fruit extract), and it’s balanced out by L-theanine, an amino acid found primarily in green and black tea and some mushrooms. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Liquid I.V. (@liquidiv) Keech says the biggest challenge was to make a sugar-free option that still managed to taste good and deliver on the promise of natural energy. We worked for a long time to get this right,” he says. “Getting that balance between flavor and function has been the hardest thing to pull off. A new ad campaign for the launch focuses on how most energy drinks and caffeinated options cause people to glitch out. The brand will also really be leaning into New York Fashion Week in early September, with reps in branded Rivian EVs handing out samples, and a Good Energy Bodega in SoHo. This doubles down on the focus in New York City, where the brand launched a Times Square takeover earlier this summer.
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E-Commerce
Netflix appears to have its first No. 1 box-office title in the streaming company’s 18-year history thanks to the sensation of “KPop Demon Hunters.”Rival studios on Sunday estimated “KPop Demon Hunters” led all films over the weekend with $16-18 million in ticket sales. Distribution executives from three studios shared their estimates for the Netflix phenomenon on condition of anonymity because the streaming company has a policy of not reporting ticket sales.Following a dominating few weeks as one of the most popular Netflix releases ever, the streamer put the film into 1,750 theaters for sing-along screenings Saturday and Sunday. Studios are able to accurately estimate ticket sales for all releases on Sunday morning, though the uncommon nature of the “KPop Demon Hunters” releases means a wider variance. Some estimates were as high as $20 million.It amounted to a victory lap for “KPop Demon Hunters,” arguably the biggest hit of Hollywood’s summer, and an ironic success for Netflix, whose emphasis on streaming, not theatrical release, upended the movie industry. Another sore spot for Hollywood: The film was developed and produced by Sony Pictures, which sold it to Netflix.Not all exhibitors went along. AMC, the largest theater chain in North America, declined to show the movie. But that didn’t stop Netflix from claiming the box-office title its more traditional competitors typically own.David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, called it “a completely unique two-day musical event.”“It may turn out to be higher,” said Gross. “Theater owners are quick on their feet and can add capacity according to demand.”The theatrical release, though limited, is out of the ordinary for the streaming giant, which has long stressed a commitment to subscriber releases. The movie debuted on the platform in late June and is currently Netflix’s most-watched animated original film.The film centers on Huntr/x, a KPop superstar trio who double as demon hunters. The members, Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zooey (Ji-young Yoo), must protect their fans and face their biggest enemy yet: a rival boy band made up of demons in disguise.Zach Cregger’s horror hit “Weapons” maintained strength in the box office during its third weekend, bringing in $15.6 million domestically. The buzzy horror movie has proved its staying power, raking in over $100 million globally since its release.Disney’s “Freakier Friday” landed behind the horror movie once again, earning $9.2 million in North American theaters.The two films are “real bright spots” as the box office heads into a “rather quiet finish” for the summer, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the data firm Comscore. Both films, which premiered simultaneously earlier this month, had a minimal 36% drop from last weekend.“I think we have to look at the currency of the goodwill generated by people having these great summer moviegoing experiences,” Dergarabedian said. “We have to look at that as a more important metric than just the bottom-line dollars and cents.”“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” earned $5.9 million domestically during its fifth weekend. The movie enjoyed a strong $118 million debut but has experienced a steady decline.Newcomer “Honey Don’t!” opened in 1,317 North American theaters with a weekend gross estimate of $3 million, in line with expectations. The movie made it to the top 10, right above “The Naked Gun.”The dark comedy stars Margaret Qualley as Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator who investigates a slew of strange deaths tied to a church in Bakersfield, California. Top 10 movies by domestic box office With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: “Weapons,” $15.6 million. “Freakier Friday,” $9.2 million. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” $5.9 million. “The Bad Guys 2,” $5.1 million. “Nobody 2,” $3.7 million. “Superman,” $3.4 million. “Honey Don’t!” $3 million. “The Naked Gun,” $3 million. “Jurassic World Rebirth,” $2.1 million. “Relay,” $2 million. Itzel Luna and Jake Coyle, Associated Press
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