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.

On Friday the French national postal service, La Poste, said it was temporarily suspending postal traffic to the United States starting on Monday, except for gifts sent by individuals worth less than $100.

Marie-Louise Nawale, a sales manager at a post office in Paris, said the decision will impact her customers.

"Customers can only send parcels to the United States if the contents do not exceed a value of €80 or $100 and if it is addressed to an individual as a gift. So these are really very strict conditions," Nawale said.

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.

Many European postal services say they are pausing deliveries now because they cannot guarantee the goods will enter the U.S. before August 29. They cite ambiguity about what kind of goods are covered by the new rules, and the lack of time to process their implications.

In a statement, La Poste said the U.S. did not provide full technical details or allow enough time for the French postal service to prepare for new customs procedures announced in a U.S. executive order July 31.

La Poste also expressed regret over the situation and said it is continuing to work with U.S. authorities to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

''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,'' the statement read.

La Poste said it delivers 2.6 billion packages per year, employs 227,000 people and has annual revenue of 35 billion euros, much of it from international business.

Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy on Saturday said they will stop shipping most merchandise to the U.S. effective immediately.

Austria was set to join France in the suspension 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.

AP Video shot by Oleg Cetinic