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Fixing China Postage Could Have Unintended Consequences

Universal Postal Union

Universal Postal UnionThe US withdrawal from the Universal Postal Union could harm US exporters and have other consequences, according to the International Mailers Advisory Group (IMAG).

The organization released a statement in reaction to news of the withdrawal, which is President Trump’s answer to make terminal dues more fair to the US. The UPU does more than set terminal dues – IMAG said the UPU sets standards for the global postal network.

That includes operations, automated payment systems, mailing and containerization, quality of service, and dangerous goods in the mail.

IMAG members are concerned that US exporters will be hurt by increased costs and the uncertainty around rates and operational changes.

“U.S. exports under 70 lbs. are valued at billions of dollars a year. Leaving the UPU will certainly result in increased costs for exporters,” said Adam Langston, President and CEO of Access Worldwide, and Immediate Past Chairman of IMAG.

IMAG also worries that withdrawing from the UPU could prove harmful to the United States’ goal of collecting advance electronic data (AED) on all inbound shipments from foreign posts; under the recently passed STOP Act, countries are required to provide 100% AED by 2020.

Read the full release by visiting the IMAG website.

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Ina Steiner
Ina Steiner
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.

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Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.

6 thoughts on “Fixing China Postage Could Have Unintended Consequences”

  1. USA will be a much better place when all the chinese junk is gone.

    no reason to subsidize a communist country

  2. Usps raises our international rates all the time yet stuff coming in is cheap as dirt.

    I say the pros out weigh the cons. We are getting ripped off in the global shippinh market.

    Make all countries pay what we pay domestically. End of story.

  3. Millions, if not billions will be spent to spin this to look like it’s going to be a terrible mistake. If China has to pay their fair share, A LOT of people will not be happy, including US businesses. There is no reason to stay in something where you’re doing all the giving and they are doing all the taking. I hope he goes after that deal Amazon has with US Post too. The taxpayers are being hosed on both of these deals.

  4. UPS and Fedex have to operate under the Law of Supply & Demand.
    Why can’t the post office? One reason is it’s insane obligation on how to fund the workers’ pension plan.

  5. I’m tired of always being on the losing end. USPS has raised its rates so high I can no longer ship internationally…its just not feasible. So, now I ship only within the US which puts a serious crimp in the amount of customers I get. It also puts a serious crimp on the size of paintings I can sell. Something needs to be done 🙁

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