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> hugely subsidised mail I noticed this many years ago when ebay vendors from china were able to sell stuff for less that what one has to pay for shipping Wha

> hugely subsidised mail I noticed this many years ago when ebay vendors from china were able to sell stuff for less that what one has to pay for shipping What's the implication here in this context?

Qworg 8y ago
It is essentially abusing the UBU to subsidize trade from China. There was an excellent NPR story about it: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=634732388 https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?stor...
- aerophilic 8y ago
  Thank you for that link, I am somewhat that it hasn’t become a political issue given the current environment. Do you know if anyone is trying to address this issue?
  - Qworg 8y ago
    As far as I know, the US is making noise about it. I don't know if any real changes have occurred.
    - yostrovs 8y ago
      US filed paperwork announcing withdrawal. There's, I believe, a two year period that kicks in for renegotiation. So the process of moving as fast as it can right now.
  - gred 8y ago
    US announces intent to withdraw from international postal rate system: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/411828-us-announces-intent-to-withdraw-from-international-postal-rate-system https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/411828-us-announ...
  - gregw2 8y ago
    Trump has complained about it publicly and is working to withdraw us while the Democrats spin it as Trump trying to withdraw from a 200-year old treaty - we should fix it instead (but we also tried that once and failed in 2016). I haven't followed it closely but it is a political issue, albeit a minor one that neither side for whatever reason wants to escalate into a major talking point. (Not a Trump supporter but maybe on this one...)
    - yostrovs 8y ago
      It's amuzing how people feel forced to add the "I didn't vote for Trump" when defending his actions that they like. Lest someone think they're monsters. The reality is that business-wise he's actually working hard for America's economy, addressing structural nonsense like the mail post treaty. Why can't that be simply something you support, regardless of who you voted for. Why is it implied that the other party decides whether a position is right or wrong by simply choosing the opposite of what a politician they hate chooses?
      - fareesh 8y ago
        People need to do that for fear of losing their jobs or damaging their career prospects I think. Is it possible to be a Trump supporter at any of these big bay area tech firms? Many of my friends tell me they pretend to be apolitical for fear of being fired, but I don't know how exaggerated their stories are.
      - hombre_fatal 8y ago
        People do this all the time for everything because it's a cheap way to supposedly increase the value of your commentary since you're otherwise allegedly unpleased by the subject. It also lets you pander to the audience with "I'm not one of those people, but...". For example, you can see "I don't like {Javascript,PHP,Apple,Google,Facebook,$tech,$website,$thing}, but..." right here on HN, frequently.
      - irq11 8y ago
        “Business-wise”, he’s taking a series of random, poorly reasoned actions, some of which happen to be good. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. The parent is saying that Trump is bad on most things, but good on one particular thing. You’re trying to claim that he’s good on most things in a category.

> hugely subsidised mail I noticed this many years ago when ebay vendors from china were able to sell stuff for less that what one has to pay for shipping What's the implication here in this context?

Qworg 8y ago

It is essentially abusing the UBU to subsidize trade from China. There was an excellent NPR story about it: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=634732388 https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?stor...

aerophilic 8y ago
Thank you for that link, I am somewhat that it hasn’t become a political issue given the current environment. Do you know if anyone is trying to address this issue?
- Qworg 8y ago
  As far as I know, the US is making noise about it. I don't know if any real changes have occurred.
  - yostrovs 8y ago
    US filed paperwork announcing withdrawal. There's, I believe, a two year period that kicks in for renegotiation. So the process of moving as fast as it can right now.
- gred 8y ago
  US announces intent to withdraw from international postal rate system: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/411828-us-announces-intent-to-withdraw-from-international-postal-rate-system https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/411828-us-announ...
- gregw2 8y ago
  Trump has complained about it publicly and is working to withdraw us while the Democrats spin it as Trump trying to withdraw from a 200-year old treaty - we should fix it instead (but we also tried that once and failed in 2016). I haven't followed it closely but it is a political issue, albeit a minor one that neither side for whatever reason wants to escalate into a major talking point. (Not a Trump supporter but maybe on this one...)
  - yostrovs 8y ago
    It's amuzing how people feel forced to add the "I didn't vote for Trump" when defending his actions that they like. Lest someone think they're monsters. The reality is that business-wise he's actually working hard for America's economy, addressing structural nonsense like the mail post treaty. Why can't that be simply something you support, regardless of who you voted for. Why is it implied that the other party decides whether a position is right or wrong by simply choosing the opposite of what a politician they hate chooses?
    - fareesh 8y ago
      People need to do that for fear of losing their jobs or damaging their career prospects I think. Is it possible to be a Trump supporter at any of these big bay area tech firms? Many of my friends tell me they pretend to be apolitical for fear of being fired, but I don't know how exaggerated their stories are.
    - hombre_fatal 8y ago
      People do this all the time for everything because it's a cheap way to supposedly increase the value of your commentary since you're otherwise allegedly unpleased by the subject. It also lets you pander to the audience with "I'm not one of those people, but...". For example, you can see "I don't like {Javascript,PHP,Apple,Google,Facebook,$tech,$website,$thing}, but..." right here on HN, frequently.
    - irq11 8y ago
      “Business-wise”, he’s taking a series of random, poorly reasoned actions, some of which happen to be good. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. The parent is saying that Trump is bad on most things, but good on one particular thing. You’re trying to claim that he’s good on most things in a category.