Shipping Chaos: Heartbreak and Lost Heirlooms Amid New US Customs Rules

Thu Oct 16 2025 22:24:31 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

As new customs regulations lead to shipping delays and package disposals, customers like Janani Mohan fear their cherished items are gone forever. The logistics challenges have left both individuals and businesses grappling with significant losses.

US shipping is in turmoil as new customs rules cause chaos for customers and businesses alike. Individuals like Janani Mohan worry about lost heirlooms, including a wedding sari, while businesses face financial setbacks due to package disposals. This surge in processing complication has left many in despair over missing personal and business belongings as they navigate an overwhelmed system.

Shipping Chaos: Heartbreak and Lost Heirlooms Amid New US Customs Rules

As the holidays approach, many Americans are facing turmoil with their shipped packages due to stringent new customs rules implemented by the Trump administration. Customers are grappling with delayed deliveries and the distressing possibility that their cherished items are lost or even destroyed.

Graduate student Nicole Lobo, who shipped ten boxes from the UK to Philadelphia, is now six weeks into waiting for her belongings with no sign of them. Notified that her shipment faces disposal, she is left to make frantic phone calls to resolve the situation. It’s been horrific, she remarks, reflecting the frustrations shared by many.

Janani Mohan, a 29-year-old engineer from Michigan, is in a similar predicament. After sending a package from India that contained her wedding sari—an heirloom worn by her mother as well—Mohan was horrified to discover her beloved items might be treated as trash by UPS.

I literally cried to them on the phone, she recalled, expressing her distress over the potential loss of irreplaceable items that hold deep emotional value.

These issues are a direct fallout from the newly mandated customs inspections on parcels valued under $800. The influx of packages is overwhelming shipping companies, leading to longer processing times and unexpected disposal notifications for many customers.

Businesses are not immune to these setbacks. Mizuba Tea Co., which imports matcha from Japan, reported holding up $100,000 worth of shipments that are caught in limbo, while Swedish Candy Land faced losses up to $50,000 due to package disposals of its products sent to the US.

Experts warn that these challenges will only escalate as companies race against a tide of strict regulations. What we've seen is that it is much harder than anyone anticipated, says John Pickel from the National Foreign Trade Council as he reflects on the ripple effect through the supply chain.

As customers like Nicole and Janani await resolution and hope for their items to surface, the sentiment remains clear: the shipping industry must adapt urgently to prevent further heartbreak.