The U.S. government has started the process of withdrawing from the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
The UPU is a 193-member international body established in 1874 to facilitate mail delivery between countries. The organization also oversees the rates national postal services charge for handling each other’s mail.
The UPU requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to charge other nations’ postal services less than its standard handling fees, called “terminal dues,” for shipments to the United States from certain foreign countries, including China. The discounted fees give foreign companies shipping goods from those countries an unfair cost advantage over U.S. companies that ship goods, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders stated on October 17. The subsidized rates also hurt the U.S. Postal Service because it costs USPS more to handle the packages than the fees the UPU allows it to charge, Sanders said.
During the year-long withdrawal process, the Trump administration will seek to renegotiate those UPU rules, said Sanders.
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