5 ms·

US Announces Withdraw from Postal Treaty; International Shipping Prices to Rise

27 points by Yoms 8y ago

anilshanbhag 8y ago
Well you would be surprised that you can buy a sub-dollar item (eg: [1]) on AliExpress and have it shipped all the way from China to your home in US. Just the shipping within US using USPS costs at-least $3. [1] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SHUANGR-fashion-1-pair-5-style-Punk-Rock-Ear-Clip-Cuff-Wrap-Earrings-No-piercing-Clip/32817129665.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SHUANGR-fashion-1-pair-5-sty...
- ElBarto 8y ago
  Lest we forget that the USPS seems to have been quite OK with how things worked: http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2010/pr10_058.htm http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2010/pr10_058.h...
Cynddl 8y ago
> The treaty in question is the Universal Postal Union, which established that each country should retain all money it has collected for international postage. Without the Universal Postal Union, how will fees be calculated when shipping from the US or to the US? Does every country have to sign a new agreement that could include yearly collection or payment of taxes?
- ElBarto 8y ago
  Yes, I would assume that if the US isn't part of the postal union then foreign post services have no way to send letters and parcels to the US anymore unless and until they negotiate service deals with US operators. The same should apply for sending letters from the US to anywhere else in the world. The Wikipedia page on the Universal Postal Union states: "Prior to the establishment of the UPU, each country had to prepare a separate postal treaty with other nations if it wished to carry international mail to or from them."
bmaupin 8y ago
Previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18246130 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18246130
agentdax5 8y ago
The referenced articles seem to only focus on the US-China relationship. What about the impact it will have between the US and the rest of the world? Will other countries be less apt to purchase US goods from abroad? I don’t think it is very fair the Chinese can ship very cheaply to the rest of the world but this seems like a heavy handed approach.
- arrrg 8y ago
  It used to go in the other direction. This treaty was beneficial for the US in the past.

27 points by Yoms 8y ago

Well you would be surprised that you can buy a sub-dollar item (eg: [1]) on AliExpress and have it shipped all the way from China to your home in US. Just the shipping within US using USPS costs at-least $3. [1] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SHUANGR-fashion-1-pair-5-style-Punk-Rock-Ear-Clip-Cuff-Wrap-Earrings-No-piercing-Clip/32817129665.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SHUANGR-fashion-1-pair-5-sty...

ElBarto 8y ago
Lest we forget that the USPS seems to have been quite OK with how things worked: http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2010/pr10_058.htm http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2010/pr10_058.h...

Cynddl 8y ago

> The treaty in question is the Universal Postal Union, which established that each country should retain all money it has collected for international postage. Without the Universal Postal Union, how will fees be calculated when shipping from the US or to the US? Does every country have to sign a new agreement that could include yearly collection or payment of taxes?

ElBarto 8y ago
Yes, I would assume that if the US isn't part of the postal union then foreign post services have no way to send letters and parcels to the US anymore unless and until they negotiate service deals with US operators. The same should apply for sending letters from the US to anywhere else in the world. The Wikipedia page on the Universal Postal Union states: "Prior to the establishment of the UPU, each country had to prepare a separate postal treaty with other nations if it wished to carry international mail to or from them."

bmaupin 8y ago

Previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18246130 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18246130

agentdax5 8y ago

The referenced articles seem to only focus on the US-China relationship. What about the impact it will have between the US and the rest of the world? Will other countries be less apt to purchase US goods from abroad? I don’t think it is very fair the Chinese can ship very cheaply to the rest of the world but this seems like a heavy handed approach.

arrrg 8y ago
It used to go in the other direction. This treaty was beneficial for the US in the past.