Shipping from Germany to the USA: Understanding Current Customs Delays and U.S. Tariffs

For more than 20 years, Arctic Antiques has been shipping fossil mammoth ivory and other natural history specimens from Germany to customers throughout the United States. During this time, we have gained extensive experience with international shipping, customs procedures and import documentation.

The United States has introduced new tariff measures and suspended duty-free de minimis treatment under the Executive Orders issued by President Donald J. Trump. As a result, the customs process for international shipments entering the United States has changed significantly.

This article is intended as a general guide for our valued customers across the United States to explain the current shipping situation and why delivery times from Germany to the USA are now often considerably longer than they were previously.

Why Are Shipments Taking Longer?

Before the implementation of the current U.S. tariff regulations, parcels shipped from Germany to the United States were generally processed much more quickly after arrival.

Today, virtually every international shipment entering the United States must undergo additional customs processing. As a result, parcels often remain at central U.S. customs and logistics hubs for considerably longer than was previously the case while import procedures are completed.

Because these procedures are still relatively new, processing times can vary significantly from one U.S. state to another, depending on local customs workflows and operational procedures. Consequently, delivery times are no longer as predictable as they once were.

This situation continues to develop. On June 24, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published new regulations that indefinitely suspend the duty-free de minimis exemption and establish a dedicated postal informal entry process for shipments arriving through the international mail network, such as ours. This new process becomes effective on July 24, 2026, with certain related compliance requirements following on October 22, 2026. We are monitoring these regulatory changes closely.

This Affects Every Customer Importing Goods into the USA

The current situation is not unique to Arctic Antiques or to fossil mammoth ivory shipments.

It affects customers throughout the United States who purchase goods from abroad, including shipments originating from Germany and other European Union countries. Regardless of the type of product being imported, international parcels are generally subject to the same customs environment established under current U.S. regulations.

Once Your Parcel Leaves Germany

Once we hand your shipment to DHL Premium in Germany, it begins its journey through the international postal network and eventually enters the U.S. customs system.

From that point onward, the customs clearance process is handled entirely by the relevant U.S. authorities. Unfortunately, we have absolutely no influence over how long customs processing will take, and we cannot accelerate, prioritise or bypass these procedures in any way.

As a German exporter, we fully comply with all applicable German, European Union and United States export and customs regulations.

Why Tracking Updates Sometimes Stop

One of the most common questions we currently receive concerns shipment tracking.

Because parcels may remain within U.S. customs processing for extended periods, it is not unusual for online tracking information to remain unchanged for several days or even several weeks.

An unchanged tracking status does not automatically indicate that a shipment has been lost. In many cases, the parcel is simply awaiting customs processing before continuing through the domestic U.S. delivery network.

Should a shipment ever become undeliverable or be refused by U.S. Customs or the carrier, it is normally returned automatically to our office in Germany. If this happens, we will contact the customer immediately as soon as we receive the relevant information.

Why We Ship with DHL Premium

Customers occasionally ask whether we can ship by UPS Express or FedEx Express instead.

Based on our experience of shipping to the United States for more than two decades, we generally do not recommend these services for our products. In many cases, express courier services result in substantially higher customs brokerage fees, processing charges and import costs for the recipient than shipments sent through DHL Premium and the international postal network.

For this reason, DHL Premium remains our preferred shipping method for most deliveries to the United States.

We Appreciate Your Patience

We fully understand that longer delivery times can be frustrating.

Unfortunately, the current customs procedures are established under U.S. law and apply to international shipments entering the United States. These procedures are entirely outside our control, and there is nothing we can do to shorten the customs process once a parcel has arrived in the USA.

We therefore kindly ask all of our U.S. customers for their patience and understanding while these customs procedures are completed.

Our Commitment to Our U.S. Customers

The United States has been one of our most important markets for many years, and we remain committed to providing secure international shipping, accurate customs documentation and professional customer service.

Although delivery times are currently longer than they were before the implementation of the new U.S. tariff measures, we continue to prepare every shipment carefully, provide complete export documentation and monitor every parcel until it reaches its final destination.

If you have any questions regarding your shipment, customs documentation or delivery status, please feel free to contact us at info@arcticantiques.com

References

• The White House. Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries (Executive Order 14388, February 20, 2026).
• The White House. Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries (Executive Order 14324, July 30, 2025).
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments and New Postal Informal Entry Process, 91 Fed. Reg. 37801 (June 24, 2026; effective July 24, 2026).