Starting Monday, August 25, 2025, India Post will temporarily suspend postal services to the United States, joining a growing list of countries taking similar actions. This decision follows a recent U.S. executive order that changes the customs duties on international shipments.

The U.S. Presidential decree, issued last month, eliminates the duty-free "de minimis" exemption for goods valued up to $800, effective August 29. This means that almost all international postal items headed to the U.S. will be subject to customs duties under the U.S. tariff framework. The only exception will be letters, documents, and gift items valued up to $100.

India's communications ministry stated that the executive order requires transport carriers or other "qualified parties" approved by U.S. authorities to collect and remit the tariff duties. However, the ministry noted that "several critical processes relating to the designation of 'qualified parties' and mechanisms for duty collection and remittance remain undefined". Due to this lack of clarity, U.S.-bound air carriers have expressed their inability to accept postal consignments after August 25, citing a lack of operational and technical readiness.

As a result, India's Department of Posts will temporarily suspend bookings of all types of postal articles destined for the United States. Letters, documents, and gift items up to US$100 in value will continue to be accepted and conveyed to the USA, pending further clarifications from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the United States Postal Service (USPS). The Department of Posts is closely monitoring the situation and working to normalize services as soon as possible.

Customers who have already booked articles that cannot be dispatched to the U.S. due to these circumstances may seek a refund of postage. The Department of Posts has expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to customers.

Several other countries are also suspending or modifying their postal services to the U.S. due to the new tariff rules. Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Italy have already stopped shipping most merchandise to the U.S. France and Austria will follow on Monday, and the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

The U.S. says that airlines or other approved agencies must collect and pay customs duties on parcels but has not explained how the duty collection system will work.

According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), the suspension underscores the immediate fallout of Washington's new trade measures, which are expected to disrupt global e-commerce and impact exporters in India and other countries that depend on small-value, duty-free shipping.