What new US customs rules mean for Indian exporters-
In June 2026, the US government tightened the rules on who is allowed to bring goods into the country and what they must prove before doing so. In August 2026, a related report went further and specifically named India as one of the countries most likely to be used to route goods around higher tariffs, a practice called “transshipment.”
Neither development changes the actual tariff rate Indian goods pay today (18%, down from a 50% peak after the February 2026 interim trade deal). What they change is the paperwork: how much proof is needed, how fast it must be produced, and how far back the US government can reach if something looks wrong: up to a full year.
Compliance has moved from “prove it if asked” to “prove it before you ship, and keep proving it for a year after.” Exporters who can produce clean, fast, retrievable documentation will keep moving. Exporters who can't will face delays, held shipments, lost orders, or retroactive bills.
Put simply: one rule change raises the bar for anyone who clears US customs directly. The other raises suspicion on India as a country, regardless of who clears customs, meaning genuine Indian manufacturers now carry a heavier burden of proof, even when they've done nothing wrong.
Two scenarios, explained through the trade process: Not every exporter is affected the same way. The impact depends almost entirely on one question: who is named as the “Importer of Record” when the goods reach the US? Below, we walk through both common situations step by step, the way the shipment actually moves, and show exactly where the new rules insert themselves.
Scenario 1: “I sell FOB / CIF; my US buyer handles customs”
Under FOB (Free on Board) or CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) terms, an Indian exporter's responsibility largely ends once the goods are loaded onto the ship (FOB) or reach the destination port (CIF). From there, the US buyer, or their customs broker, takes over, including filing the customs entry and being named the Importer of Record (IOR).
