India, UK, EU stop postal deliveries to the US

The American de minimis exemption allowed duty-free entry of packages worth less than $800.

With this, the US government aims to curb cheap imports. However, the US postal services have not welcomed this sudden change, as it has left them unprepared for the drop in imports.

India, the UK, and several European nations have refused to send small parcels to the US in the absence of proper clarity on import duties. Airlines from these nations have also declined to carry packages to the US.

The de minimis exemption was introduced in 1938, when the US allowed free entry for goods valued at $1 or less. In the 1990s, Congress considered it a trade facilitation tool instead of an efficiency booster.

In 2016, the limit was raised from $200 to $800. de minimis shipments to the US jumped from 153 million in 2015 to over one billion in 2023.

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