India temporarily suspends most postal services with the US due to tariff policy

The Indian government's Department of Post has announced the temporary suspension of all postal shipments to the United States valued at more than $100 (€85)—which represents the majority of orders—due to companies' inability to manage regulatory changes resulting from the Trump administration's tariff policies.

"The Department of Posts has decided to temporarily suspend the booking of all types of postal items destined for the US from August 25, 2025, except for letters, documents, and gift items with a maximum value of $100," the Indian Ministry of Communications said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump has decided to suspend the so-called "de minimis" regime, under which all goods costing less than $800 (€680) were exempt from paying tariffs.

For this reason, shipments exceeding this price must now pay taxes. The problem stems from the collection and management of these taxes and the uncertainty surrounding which entities and companies should be responsible for collecting them and how.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued certain guidelines on August 15, 2025, several critical processes related to the designation of authorized entities and duty collection and settlement mechanisms remain undefined," the Indian government statement reads.

Indian airlines have expressed their inability to accept orders destined for the United States due to a lack of "technical and operational capacity."

"The Department is closely monitoring the evolving situation in coordination with all stakeholders, and every effort is being made to return services to normal as quickly as possible," the statement said.

MULTIPLE SUSPENSIONS AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

The Indian postal service has become another in a string of temporary suspensions imposed by various postal entities and companies in a multitude of countries on goods destined for the United States due to the regulatory confusion generated by the end of the de minimis regime.

The Spanish public service company Correos will impose this suspension of shipments, as will the Indian service, starting Sunday, August 24 at 11:59 p.m. The Spanish company has stated that this will have a "significant" impact on international postal logistics and e-commerce flows.

PostNL (Netherlands), DHL and Deutsche Post (Germany), Postnord (in the Nordic countries), and Poste Italiane (Italy), among many other operators, have joined the temporary suspension of shipments to the United States with prices above $800 until the regulations are clarified.