India will temporarily suspend postal deliveries to the United States, the government announced on Saturday, citing confusion arising from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The move comes less than a week before the Trump administration’s decision to revoke duty-free treatment for certain low-value parcels takes effect.
India’s communications ministry stated that the executive order issued last month mandates transport carriers or other ‘qualified parties’ approved by US authorities to collect and remit the tariff duties.
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However, ‘several critical processes relating to the designation of ‘qualified parties’ and mechanisms for duty collection and remittance remain undefined,’ the ministry said in a statement.
As a result, US-bound air carriers have expressed their inability to accept postal consignments after August 25, 2025, citing a lack of operational and technical readiness.
Consequently, India’s department of posts will temporarily suspend bookings of ‘all types of postal articles’ destined for the United States from Monday, except for letters, documents, and gift items valued up to $100.
‘These exempt categories will continue to be accepted and conveyed to the USA, subject to further clarifications from CBP and USPS,’ the ministry added, emphasizing that ‘every effort is being made to normalize services.’
The move follows similar steps taken by postal services and mail carriers across Europe.
France’s La Poste informed AFP that it would suspend most package deliveries to the United States from Monday.
It mentioned that the new implementation rules were issued by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on August 15, ‘leaving European postal services with an extremely limited timeframe to get prepared.’
The Trump administration has announced that it will abolish a tax exemption on small packages entering the United States from August 29.
