When mailing a letter to the US becomes a global headache

Brian West, a retired restaurant owner in Thailand, thought six weeks was plenty of time to renew his New York driver's license. All he had to do was mail an application form and his vision test results to the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Brooklyn.

- FRANCESCA REGALADO & JENNY GROSS

When he tried to do that last Friday, the post office near his home in Chiang Mai declined to send his documents. Thailand Post, the country's postal service, has stopped sending mail to the United States while its transportation partners adjust to President Trump's decision to end duty exemptions for low-value imports.

Many postal services around the world have done the same as they await clarity on how Trump's executive order, which went into effect at midnight on Friday, will play out.