NEW DELHI, Oct 14 (Reuters) – India will resume all postal services to the United States from Wednesday after putting in place systems to collect duties upfront, the Department of Posts said, ending a nearly two-month suspension triggered by new U.S. import regulations.
Postal shipments to the United States were halted in August after the U.S. administration issued an executive order suspending the “de minimis” exemption that had allowed low-value commercial shipments to enter the country without tariffs.
The decision comes ahead of a meeting between Indian and U.S. trade officials in Washington later this week, following the U.S.’s move to double tariffs – up to 50% – on some Indian goods over Russian oil purchases.
Under an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump, packages valued at, or under, $800 sent to the U.S., including through the international postal network faced “all applicable duties” from August 29.
The change required India and other countries to set up systems to collect and remit U.S. customs duties upfront under new U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules.
Customs duty on postal shipments from India to the U.S. is applicable at a flat rate of 50% of the declared value of the package in India, the postal department statement said.
The move aims to support exporters, including small businesses, artisans, small traders, and e-commerce businesses, by making international shipping predictable and affordable.
Between 2015 and 2024, the annual volume of “de minimis” shipments entering the U.S. surged from 134 million shipments to over 1.36 billion shipments. U.S. Customs processes over 4 million daily “de minimis” shipments.
Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Sharon Singleton
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Manoj Kumar
Thomson Reuters
Manoj Kumar is a Senior Economics Correspondent based in New Delhi. He covers macroeconomy with a focus on India’s economic policies for manufacturing, trade and the rural economy. He has written on a broad range of topics including India’s annual budgets, taxation, inflation, youth unemployment, protests and the impact of government policies on people. Previously, he worked with the PTI news agency and The Tribune newspaper covering ministries of finance, commerce & industry, and petroleum besides parliament.
