Key Takeaways:The expiration of the de minimis loophole and general uncertainty are driving non-US beauty companies to halt shipments to the US.K-beauty retailers have been hit particularly hard, triggering companies to add or absorb duties.US trade policies leave international mail carriers in chaos, forcing brands and retailers into survivor mode.While President Trump squabbles with world leaders and allows conspiracy theorists to dismantle our public health system, beauty brands and retailers, both US and abroad, are struggling to keep the lights on. It feels like one gut punch after another: tariffs, more tariffs, changing tariffs, delaying tariffs, and then delivering a potentially lethal blow—the expiration of the “de minimis” exemption, which previously allowed packages under $800 to avoid FDA inspections, tariffs, and duties.Many non-US beauty companies are in survival mode, responding to tariffs, the end of the de minimis exemption, and general uncertainty by pausing shipments to the US to avoid steep customs duties and potentially delayed or canceled packages.British retailer SpaceNK temporarily paused all US-bound shipments at the beginning of May, citing in an email to customers that they wished “to avoid incorrect or additional costs being applied to our customers' orders.” K-Wave, InterruptedThe South Korean government-run postal service, Korea Post, announced in a press release that as of August 25, it would temporarily suspend packages bound for the US, leaving many Korean companies scrambling for a solution. According to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, South Korea exported $1.