For decades, global shoppers and small businesses have relied on affordable, hassle-free shipping to the United States, thanks to a long-standing U.S. policy that allowed low-value goods to enter the country without customs duties. But as of August 29, 2025, that system has been upended—sending shockwaves through international postal networks and leaving millions wondering when, or if, normal service will return.
India’s Department of Posts was among the first to sound the alarm. On August 23, officials announced a temporary suspension of most outbound mail services to the U.S., effective August 25. The reason? New regulatory hurdles introduced by the U.S. government, specifically an executive order issued by the Trump administration on July 30, which abruptly revoked the so-called “de minimis” exemption for international goods valued under $800. As of the end of August, every international postal shipment to the U.S.—no matter how small—would face customs duties, with the lone exception of personal gifts valued up to $100.
“U.S.-bound air carriers have expressed their inability to handle Indian postal consignments beyond August 25 due to unresolved technical and operational challenges,” India’s Ministry of Communications said in a statement cited by iNDICA News Bureau. The Department of Posts said it had no choice but to halt most shipments, a move designed to prevent delays and confusion as packages pile up at customs checkpoints. Only letters, documents, and low-value gifts would still be accepted and dispatched, pending further instructions from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the United States Postal Service (USPS).
India is hardly alone. The new U.S. rules have triggered a domino effect across Europe and Asia. According to Fox Business, DHL—Europe’s largest shipping provider—announced on August 22 that it would immediately stop accepting and transporting parcels containing goods from business customers destined for the U.S. “Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out,” DHL said in a statement. The company characterized its restrictions as temporary, but could not say when normal service might resume.
Postal services in Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Austria, France, and Belgium have followed suit, pausing shipments to the U.S. The U.K.’s Royal Mail also temporarily suspended shipments, as reported by the BBC, while Asian countries including Singapore and Thailand said they would hold off on U.S.-bound packages until the new rules are clarified. Australia Post, meanwhile, paused transit on some packages from other countries heading to the U.S., highlighting just how far-reaching the disruption has become.
At the heart of the crisis is the end of the “de minimis” exemption—a policy that, until now, allowed international carriers to ship goods valued under $800 to the U.S. without paying duties. According to NPR, this rule had already been eliminated for China and Hong Kong earlier in the year, but was now being suspended for all countries. The White House justified the move by linking it to concerns about fentanyl and other illicit drugs entering the U.S. through low-value parcels. In a fact sheet, the administration called “de minimis” treatment a “catastrophic loophole” and a “big scam,” arguing that it not only reduced tariff revenue but also enabled the importation of dangerous drugs and unsafe products.
The numbers are staggering. The Financial Times reported (via Fox Business) that the volume of de minimis shipments into the U.S. skyrocketed from 134 million in 2015 to 1.34 billion in 2024, a tenfold increase. The White House argued that this surge helped Chinese-based fast fashion giants like Temu and Shein, who ship directly to U.S. customers, often bypassing traditional tariffs and oversight. The administration said that many Chinese-based shippers hid illicit substances in low-value packages to exploit the exemption.
But for postal operators and businesses worldwide, the problem isn’t just about money—it’s about logistics. As the French postal service La Poste told France24, European postal services were given “an extremely limited timeframe” to prepare for the new rules, and the policies require “further clarification.” Spain’s Correos postal service echoed this, saying the new policies and their short implementation window were having a “significant impact” on international postal logistics.
Even the Royal Mail, which predicted only a brief disruption of one to two days, acknowledged the need to establish new services to calculate and invoice companies for the tariffs. According to NPR, most packages shipped into the U.S. previously qualified for the de minimis exemption—removing it raises costs for imported goods, but the main headache for postal companies is the ambiguous policies and the need to build entirely new logistics systems almost overnight.
“While CBP issued certain guidelines on Aug 15, several critical processes relating to the designation of ‘qualified parties’ and mechanisms for duty collection and remittance remain undefined,” India’s Ministry of Communications noted, as reported by The Times of India. With no clear answers on who is authorized to deliver mail, how duties should be collected, or how to transmit required data to U.S. authorities, carriers have found themselves unable to proceed. “Consequently, US-bound air carriers have expressed their inability to accept postal cargo after Aug 25, citing lack of operational and technical readiness,” the ministry said.
For customers caught in the middle, there’s little consolation. Both Indian and European postal authorities have promised refunds for postage on undeliverable items and have pledged to restore normal service as soon as possible. But until the U.S. government finalizes its operational procedures—and international carriers can adapt to the new requirements—postal services to the U.S. will remain limited to documents, letters, and low-value gifts.
The policy shift has sparked debate in Washington as well. While there’s bipartisan support for restricting or eliminating de minimis shipments, some voices caution about the consequences. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, argued that eliminating de minimis shipments would hurt poorer Americans the most and would be “an administrative nightmare.” Some U.S. companies, on the other hand, have long complained that the exemption gives an unfair advantage to foreign manufacturers, allowing them to bypass tariffs that domestic producers must pay.
As international postal authorities scramble to adapt, the Ministry of Communications in India emphasized that efforts are underway to resolve the disruptions and resume full services as soon as possible. The Department of Posts is in active coordination with all stakeholders, including international postal authorities and air carriers, to develop solutions that comply with the new U.S. regulations.
For now, though, the world’s mailboxes are a little emptier—and millions of parcels are waiting for a policy fix that may not come quickly. The global logistics community, businesses, and everyday consumers all find themselves boxed in by a sudden change in the rules, hoping for clarity and a swift return to normalcy in cross-border shipping.
