India has suspended all postal services to the US amid a diplomatic rift with Washington over US President Donald Trump singling out New Delhi for its energy trade with Russia and slapping 50 per cent tariff on all goods — among the steepest since Trump took office.
India has decided to completely suspend the booking of all categories of mail, including letters, documents, and gift items valued up to $100, destined for the USA, the notification by the Department of Posts read.
The decision is in view of the ongoing inability of carriers to transport US bound mail and in the absence of defined regulatory mechanisms, the statement added.
The announcement comes a week after the department said it would suspend US-bound postal articles, except letters, documents and gift items up to $100 in value, from August 25.
On July 30, amid trade negotiations and reported deadlocks over US’ access to India’s agricultural market, Washington withdrew the duty-free de minimis exemption for goods valued up to $800 with effect from August 29, effectively making them subject to customs duties under the US tariff framework.
A think tank told The Indian Express, “After that, such shipments will face one of two duty structures: an ad valorem duty based on the effective tariff rate under IEEPA, or a flat rate duty – $80, $160, or $200 per item – depending on the country’s tariff bracket (under 16%, between 16–25%, or above 25%, respectively)” .
On July 31, the US announced 25 per cent tariffs on all commodities.
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Later on August 6, Trump signed an executive order, imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for importing Russian oil and for what he called fuelling Kremlin’s “war machine.” New Delhi called the move “unfair” and “unjustified,” pointing out the hypocrisy of the President’s move, noting that the US and Europe still buy Russian fertilizers and chemicals.
During his recent visit to Russia, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar also pointed out that China is the biggest purchaser of Russian oil, while European Union is the largest importer of Russian LNG. “We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South,” he added.
