The “Trump Tariffs” have hit many segments and industries in India, either because of the heavy duties or because of ambiguity around the nature of the duties. And one entity which has been impacted adversely is none other than India Post, which has suspended services to the United States.
India Post temporarily halts services to the US
India Post has temporarily halted most postal services to the United States from August 25, 2025. The move comes after a policy shift in the US that changes how low-value imports are taxed. A new US Executive Order that removes the long-standing duty-free exemption for imports valued up to USD 800. For years, goods worth up to USD 800 could enter the US duty-and-tax-free. This “de minimis” exemption helped small exporters, families, and students by reducing costs and avoiding customs delays, and allowed low-value shipments to enter the US easily, reducing costs and time. The Trump administration revoked this exemption, arguing that foreign e-commerce sellers were exploiting the loophole to dodge tariffs and safety checks.
Now, all international postal shipments to the US will attract customs duties under the International Emergency Economic Power Act (IEEPA) tariff framework. Only gift parcels, letters, and documents worth up to USD 100 will remain duty-free.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has directed that duties must be collected and remitted by carriers or other designated “qualified parties.” While CBP issued some guidelines in mid-August, many critical details, such as how “qualified parties” will be designated and how duties will be processed, are still unclear. Due to this uncertainty, air carriers transporting mail to the US refused to accept consignments after August 25, citing a lack of technical readiness.
As a result, India Post has temporarily stopped accepting all types of postal articles bound for the US, except for letters, documents, and small gifts up to USD 100. Customers who booked items that cannot be delivered will get a postage refund.
How the suspension affects individuals
The suspension is set to impact many people in the ecosystem: individuals, businesses, and small exporters who depend on affordable postal channels to send goods to the US. For many Indian families, posting essentials remains both a habit and a cost-effective option. Indian students abroad face particular challenges, as parents often send smaller items via post, including:
- Medicines: Small consignments of prescribed drugs that may be hard to find overseas.
- Festival parcels: Gifts and food items during occasions like Raksha Bandhan, Diwali, Eid, and Christmas.
- Documents: Affidavits, attestations, and notarised papers that frequently need to be dispatched.
Until a clear system for duty collection is put in place, these services will stay suspended.
How the suspension impacts businesses
Low-value goods that Indian sellers send via postal service typically benefitted from the de minimise exemption and used India Post, so the suspension hits small businesses, exporters, and e-commerce sellers in several ways.
- Loss of an affordable shipping channel: India Post’s international parcel services are often the cheapest way to send small consignments abroad. Small exporters and homegrown e-commerce brands that ship directly to US customers now face higher costs if they shift to private couriers.
- E-commerce and small & medium export barriers: Platforms like Etsy, Amazon Global Selling, and independent websites rely heavily on postal services for low-value orders. This includes smaller items like handicrafts, apparel, textile products, small gadgets / electronics, jewellery, footwear, etc. Without the duty-free exemption, every shipment—no matter how small—attracts duties, raising the landed cost for US buyers. This makes Indian sellers less competitive compared to local US sellers or exporters from countries with more favourable trade arrangements.
- Business uncertainties: With India Post out of the picture, sellers will now end up paying extra for courier services or taking on new customs duties that may eat into their Businesses now face unpredictability in how duties will be calculated and collected, since the US framework is not fully clarified. So until carriers and customs processes are streamlined, exporters risk delays, parcels lost in transit, or higher logistics costs.
Logistics players that may stand to gain
India Post emphasised that it is closely monitoring developments and working with all stakeholders, including CBP and the US Postal Service, to restore services as soon as possible. But till that happens, business owners and exporters may have to rely on other logistics providers to fill the gap. Private couriers, freight forwarders, and logistics firms that can comply with customs/duty collection & remittance, or who already have those “qualified party” status (or can build it), will have an advantage. Here are three smallcap companies that may stand to gain.
Allcargo Terminals: Incorporated in 2019, Allcargo Terminals Ltd is in the business of Container Freight Stations and Inland Container Depots. They operate Container Freight Stations (CFS) and Inland Container Depots (ICDs), import/export cargo handling, bonded & non-bonded warehousing, direct port delivery etc. For exporters or businesses that previously relied on India Post for cross-border sending, Allcargo Terminals can help with the port/terminal handling side, through customs clearance, consolidation, warehousing, and multimodal connectivity, all of which are precisely the services exporters will need as small parcels and low-value goods shift away from India Post. They may not deliver the last mile overseas, but can serve as a node in the export chain.
TVS SCS: TVS Supply Chain Solutions, the logistics arm of TVS group, has two segments: ISCS (Integrated Supply Chain Solutions) and NS (Network Solutions). NS includes global forwarding, warehousing/distribution, value added services, time-critical final mile etc. This gives the company a wide reach across the chain from sourcing → through transportation → to delivery. With experience in global supply chains; the company could adapt to exporting small shipments if they build a “qualified-party” duty collection capability. They also serve a number of sectors: automotive, consumer goods, technology / electronics, retail / e-commerce etc.
Tiger Logistics India: A smaller player that already does freight forwarding (air + ocean), customs clearance, transportation, etc. They have a platform “FreightJar” launched to help SMEs with freight booking & management. Since they already work in international freight and customs, they are quite well-positioned to pick up business from small exporters who lose postal service. SMEs could use them to ship small consignments overseas via sea/air freight, especially if consolidated. Their platform might help reduce friction in booking. Also, with part of their business in customs clearance & regulatory compliance, they are better placed to handle the duty/tax / documentation side of US imports now that “de minimis” is gone.
The suspension of India Post’s services to the US has left a sudden vacuum in low-value cross-border parcel movement, particularly for SMEs and e-commerce exporters who relied on the post for cost-effective delivery. This disruption creates a near-term opportunity for nimble logistics players that can quickly establish compliant duty-collection systems and secure carrier tie-ups.
Sources
PIB: Temporary Suspension of Postal Services to the United States of America
Business Standard: Cheap e-shopping just ended in US as Trump plugs de minimis tariff loophole
Tiger Logistics upgrades its freight booking and management platform “FreightJar”