Informist, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025

NEW DELHI – India Post has temporarily suspended postal services to the US, with Washington set to end duty-free entry of goods valued up to $800 from Aug. 29. Effective Monday, the Department of Posts will only accept bookings for letters, documents, and gift items up to $100 in value for shipment to the US, the government said Saturday.

"The Department is closely monitoring the evolving situation in coordination with all stakeholders, and every effort is being made to normalize services at the earliest possible opportunity," the government said in a release. "Customers who have already booked articles that cannot be dispatched to the USA due to these circumstances may seek a refund of postage."

The suspension underscores the immediate fallout of Washington's new trade measures, which are expected to disrupt global e-commerce and hit exporters in India and other countries that depended on small-value, duty-free shipping, Ajay Srivastava, founder of Global Trade Research Initiative, said in a note.

The US has eliminated the de minimis exemption, which allowed duty-free entry for goods valued up to $800. From Aug. 29, all parcels entering the US will attract tariffs. Only international postal shipments remain duty-free until the US Customs and Border Protection brings in a new entry process, Srivastava said. "After that, such shipments will face one of two duty structures: Ad valorem duty based on the effective tariff rate under IEEPA, or A flat rate duty—$80, $160, or $200 per item—depending on the country's tariff bracket (under 16%, between 16–25%, or above 25%, respectively)."

This comes at a time when India-US relations have already worsened. The US has imposed 25% tariff on India, which will rise to 50% from Wednesday. While the two nations have been working on a bilateral trade agreement since February, negotiations have broken down recently, with the next round of talks, which were expected to begin Monday, postponed indefinitely.

The Indian government said when the US Customs and Border Protection issued certain guidelines on Aug. 15, several critical processes relating to the designation of "qualified parties" and mechanisms for duty collection and remittance remained undefined. "Consequently, US-bound air carriers have expressed their inability to accept postal consignments after 25th August, 2025, citing lack of operational and technical readiness," the government said. End

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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