India’s Department of Posts on Sunday said that it has suspended all categories of mail services to the United States, including letters, documents, parcels and gift items valued under $100, following new import duty rules imposed by Washington.

On August 22, the Ministry of Communication announced that it would temporarily suspend US-bound postal services.

“In view of the inability of carriers to transport US-bound mail, and undefined regulatory mechanisms, it has now been decided to completely suspend booking of all categories of mail,” said the notice issued on Sunday.

This came after the Donald Trump administration on July 30 withdrew the duty-free exemption for goods valued up to $800. The order took effect on Friday.

As a result, a customs duty is being levied on all postal items entering the US, regardless of their value. Only gifts up to $100 in value are exempt from the levies.

The Department of Posts said it was closely monitoring the situation and making every effort to restore services as soon as possible. Customers who had already booked items that could not be dispatched due to the uncertainty could claim a refund of postage, it added.

Though gift items valued below $100 are still technically under the new rules, Indian postal authorities say the lack of clarity on how customs duties will be collected has prompted airlines to refuse transporting any mail to the US, Hindustan Times reported.

“If airlines refuse to carry the parcels, we simply have no alternative,” LK Dash, the deputy director general of the Department of Posts, told the newspaper.

India Post handles approximately three tonnes of mail to the US daily, totalling around 100 tonnes to 200 tonnes monthly, according to Hindustan Times.

The suspension is expected to impact exporters and e-commerce sellers in India who rely on postal networks to ship products to American consumers, Ajay Sahai, the director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, told The Hindu.

Nearly 30 other countries have so far paused or limited outbound postal shipments to the US after to the updated guidelines, ABC News reported.

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