Disturbing news regarding Medications Ordering from India, Price Increases, Parcels Stopped

#41

Desertshores already posted the details:

The personal importation exemption still exists but never did apply to any FDA approved drugs that are available in USA. Those of us whose medications from India were intercepted in past years received a notice listing the official personal importation rules (for release of the medication), which includes requirement that the drugs not be available in USA, limited to 90 days and provide either a US doctor’s prescription or a letter signed by the US doctor stating you are under their medical care and they are aware you are using this medication. For foreign citizens NOT resident in USA, the exemption extends to all medications, including those available in USA. The consensus on this board was that it was impossible to meet the requirements for rapamycin for US citizens/residents.

However there used to be a discretionary exception made by Customs for packages with up to 90 days of medication, which supposedly was ended on July 9, 2025. Of course this discretion only applied to packages that were inspected, and was not guaranteed, even in past years : In past years I have had one rapamycin package intercepted with the above mentioned letter (I just abandoned the package) and another rapamycin package had clearly been inspected by customs but was let through (after a 2 week delay). Most other packages of mine from India don’t appear to have been opened, the likelihood of inspection is pretty low. The complication now is that unless the seller in India misrepresents what is in the package, a package with declared medication on the customs form will theoretically be intercepted automatically.

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#42

Yes - this has been my exact experience. Medications have been (rarely) checked by customs, but let in. And I think that now things labeled as medications are blocked. So things are more complex now, and probably more difficult and expensive, especially if things have to go through a 3rd country.

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#43

That’s a good perspective on this, thank you for the writeup.

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#44

U.S. consumers have gotten used to shopping the world without paying customs duties on the international packages they receive from big e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu, specialty shops and businesses that sell goods through online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy and eBay.

That era is about to end. On Friday, the United States plans to eliminate a tariff exemption that allowed imports worth $800 or less to enter the country tax-free. With the sundowning of the “de minimis” exemption, such shipments will incur charges that range from 10% to 50% of their declared value or, for the next six months, a flat duty of $80 to $200 per parcel.

https://www.usnews.com/news/u-s-news-decision-points/articles/2025-08-26/why-you-should-care-about-the-800-duty-free-loophole-closing

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#45

Am I reading that correctly? For the next six months we may expect to pay $80 to $200 for any parcel, even low-value ones?

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#46

the new Executive Order’s small print states that packages shipped through the “international postal system” will face EITHER a duty equal to the tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product (which in the UK’s case would be 10% of the package’s value) OR a “specific” duty ranging from $80 to $200 per package.

https://www.scotsman.com/business/trumps-shock-new-tariff-move-could-add-80-to-scottish-products-sold-in-the-usa-says-parcelhero-5257594

and

Goods shipped through the postal system will face one of two tariffs: either an “ad valorem duty” equal to the effective tariff rate of the package’s country of origin or, for six months, a specific tariff of $80 US to $200 US depending on the country of origin’s tariff rate.

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#47

You can read trump’s full executive order here, and since India has a new tariff these days of 50%, the fee is $200 per package:

Sec. 3. Duty Rates for International Postal Shipments. (a) Transportation carriers delivering shipments to the United States through the international postal network, or other parties if qualified in lieu of such transportation carriers, must collect and remit duties to CBP using the methodology described in either subsection (b) or (c) of this section. Each transportation carrier shall apply the same methodology across all covered shipments during any given period but may change its methodology no more than once per calendar month, or on another schedule determined to be appropriate by CBP, upon providing at least 24 hours’ notice to CBP.
(b) A duty equal to the effective IEEPA tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product shall be assessed on the value of each dutiable postal item (package) containing goods entered for consumption.
(c) A specific duty shall be assessed on each package containing goods entered for consumption, based on the effective IEEPA tariff rate applicable to the country of origin of the product as follows:
(i) Countries with an effective IEEPA tariff rate of less than 16 percent: $80 per item;
(ii) Countries with an effective IEEPA tariff rate between 16 and 25 percent (inclusive): $160 per item; and
(iii) Countries with an effective IEEPA rate above 25 percent: $200 per item.

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#48

Only if the party referenced in the following elects option C. $200 isn’t a fait accompli.

Assuming Indiapost is the ‘transportation carrier’ (or maybe it’s the intermediary who flies the packages to the US?), they could elect to collect a 50% tariff on the declared value.

So, in theory your $20 declared value drugs could get a $10 tariff.

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#49

If the US government are trying to fill the budget hole with an import tax they may not be that relaxed about people declaring false values on imports. Obviously there are questions as to who is legally liable and it would not be shocking if they made the postal services responsible (which would make the postal service ensure that the senders were liable).

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#50

I just asked my Canadian supplier, which is more expensive but still lower than in the US and often supplied pharma manufactured in Canada or the UK about this situation. Their reply:

Please note that orders are being held in our system until the new shipping procedures are implemented on August 29th. Customers who place orders will be contacted to confirm product availability and pricing before their orders are shipped. We anticipate that shipping will resume again as early as September 2nd, 2025.

This one example will give you some idea on the price differential.

We do carry Bempedoic Acid/Ezetimibe (Generic version of Nexlizet, Nustendi) 180/10mg Tablets sourced from India. 100 tablets is $219.00.

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#51

That is an interesting idea.

On top of that we are also going to get hit with brokerage fees, with pre-approved/cleared products it will be at minimum $2.00 per parcel. There were over 4million parcels a day shipped from Canada to the US. Brokers are coming into a $8M per day windfall. IF the volume ramps back up, which I doubt will happen in the near term.

We have several options with regard to duty/tariffs and the best one is DDP (delivered duty paid) where this cost is paid up front by the consumer to the vendor.

The consumer will see a new line item in their shopping cart where the DDP cost will be added to the total. Then the vendor will pay the shipper when they purchase the shipping service/label. The shipper will send that money on to their broker who will pay the gov…

That is how it works technically but with non-shopping cart vendors, like most offshore vendors it may not be done exactly that way but someone is going to be paying a broker and the new tariffs one way or the other. And I do agree that this could place more shipments under scrutiny.

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#52

except trump just ended the de minimus exemption. “The de minimis exemption ends Friday, 29 AUG leaving smaller packages subject to levies.”

I posted the article/link a day ago or so but I saw the post was closed by Admin after 2 comments. (don’t know why)

#53

We try to keep discussions on the same topic combined in a single thread rather than spread out over multiple topics and threads, and since this thread was already covering the new Duties / De minims exemption removal, I wanted to keep it all here.

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#54

RobTuck, can you share your Canadian supplier please? I get many medications from India and I genuinely fear I won’t be able to get them anymore. I don’t have a very big stockpile to tide me over.

#55

Sure. https://www.northdrugstore.com/ You have to email a script to them.

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#56

Ok. didn’t know there was another thread as I posted right after I read the yahoo article which was brand new to the “news” feed

thx

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#57

Thank you for sharing this info! I just heard from a very reliable supplier in India that “All shipments to USA are currently on hold due to temporary suspension of Indiapost because of tariff problem.” Of course I should have anticipated this. I’d be grateful for the specific details regarding an alternative supplier. :heart:

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#58

How much do I have pay in taxes for my package?

It depends on how a shipment is sent.

If it is transported by an express carrier — think UPS or FedEx — it is subject to whatever tariffs apply to the item and the country from which it was shipped. Express carriers can calculate and pay the duties, and the recipient may have to do very little.

But if a package is sent via a foreign post office to the U.S. Postal Service — often a much cheaper method — the situation is, at least for a while, more complicated.

The duty on postal network shipments is calculated by applying just one class of tariff — those imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Those rates vary by country.

For six months, it is possible to pay a flat fee between $80 and $200, instead of the tariff rate, on postal network shipments. After that, the tariff approach will apply.

Will foreign post offices ship to me?

In many cases, no.

That’s because Mr. Trump made a disruptive change when ending de minimis. He ordered that Customs and Border Protection no longer assess the duty owed on packages sent over the international postal network.

Now, foreign post offices have to do that calculation and pay the duties to U.S. customs, or employ a third party to do those tasks. But it could take a long time for the post offices to set up such abilities. In the meantime, they have suspended sending packages to the United States.

“Foreign post offices need to get their act together when it comes to monitoring and policing the use of international mail for smuggling and tariff-evasion purposes,” Mr. Navarro said on Thursday.

How does this affect small businesses in foreign countries?

Many foreign small businesses sell directly to American consumers. Their sales may fall if the consumers balk at paying the extra costs of the tariffs and if the businesses can’t send the goods to the United States.

Espace Tricot, a knitting yarn store in Montreal, recently stopped shipping to the United States after it became clear that Canada Post could not assess and pay the tariffs, said Stephanie Earp, a co-owner of the business. Express carriers are too expensive to be a realistic alternative, she said.

Without the American market, Ms. Earp said, the business may have to retrench.

“You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” she said.

Is anything still exempt from tariffs?

Yes, letters that don’t contain merchandise and bona fide gifts valued at $100 or less are exempt.

Source:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/business/trump-tariffs-de-minimis.html

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#59

I think you need a visit to one of those ranches in Nevada.

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#60

I just received a package from India with drugs which, according to USPO tracking, was processed through Mumbai on August 22. Did I just make the deadline by 1 day?

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