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How the new tariff is severing Indian American diaspora’s festival lifeline
The announcement from India Post—that it would stop most parcel shipments to the United States from August 25—has sent a wave of shock and disappointment through the nearly 5 million-strong Indian diaspora.
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Pallavi Mehra - Thu, 28, Aug 2025
- 00:22 EDT
- 119
Representative Image. / iStock
The small idols of Ganesha, the delicate red bangles, the silk sarees, and the smell of homemade mithai—for millions of Indian-Americans, these aren’t just things. They are strings linking them to a culture and a family thousands of miles away. But this year, that connection has been put on hold, leaving the community reeling from a cultural “gut-punch.”
The announcement from India Post—that it would stop most parcel shipments to the United States from Aug. 25—has sent a wave of shock and disappointment through the nearly 5 million-strong Indian diaspora. This decision is a direct response to a new Trump administration directive that scraps the duty-free import status on low-value goods, a policy that effectively makes small personal shipments very expensive or even impossible.
Also read: From sweets to sarees, festival gifts face tariff turmoil under Trump’s new rules
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