6 ms·

Worth noting that despite us not leaving the union, Trump is apparently getting what he wants. The union basically capitulated to his demands. At least that is

Worth noting that despite us not leaving the union, Trump is apparently getting what he wants. The union basically capitulated to his demands. At least that is my reading. To be clear, I'm not saying one way or another whether this is a good thing. It's just, I felt the title somewhat implied that the USG had given up on its intentions. Whereas actually what happened was the opposite. I meant only to point this out for others who might be likewise confused.

cameronbrown 7y ago
Walking away was just a bargaining chip. I never expected the US to leave.
- ocdtrekkie 7y ago
  Fundamentally, threatening to walk away only works if people believe you'll actually do it. (It's plausible Trump has additional influence here solely based on the fact him doing crazy %$&@ is considered "plausible".)
- jackvalentine 7y ago
  What would be the practical effect if the U.S. had left? Having to negotiate fees separately with every country?
  - cameronbrown 7y ago
    I don't doubt they could do it if necessary. Disruption would probably be minimal. But like I said, I don't think it was ever on the table.
    - jackvalentine 7y ago
      I’m genuinely asking, is that what you have to do if you’re not part of this postal union or is there some other state you find yourself in as an outsider? Do packages stop getting routed via your country? I don’t know!
cc81 7y ago
Which is good. It has been discussed here in Sweden as well and it feels pretty odd that we would subsidize packages so they pay less sending something all the way from China than I would pay sending something to the next town. I get the history behind it but the world has changed since then.
Scoundreller 7y ago
Trump’e arguments weren’t wrong: it didn’t make sense for China to keep its below-average and below-cost fees for sending packages to the US. I just wish he could get the USPS to stop seeing outbound international mail as a profit centre. Plenty of Americans could be exporting a lot more internationally, but the USPS has chosen high prices and low volumes. As a Canadian that sometimes talks Americans into selling to me on Ebay, they find it a painful and costly experience compared to US sales.
- microcolonel 7y ago
  > As a Canadian that sometimes talks Americans into selling to me on Ebay, they find it a painful and costly experience compared to US sales. Indeed, buying from small U.S. suppliers into Canada is awful. The customs clearance fees are immense, and between those and CBSA, it seems that packages often arrive hastily repacked after a deep inspection, with permanent damage to the goods.
- kelnos 7y ago
  I wonder if the high prices for outbound international mail is an attempt to offset the losses on inbound mail from countries like China. If so, we might see better outbound rates after this goes into effect.
- TMWNN 7y ago
  >Trump’e arguments weren’t wrong Just say "Trump was right". You will not be condemned by bien-pensants as a thought-criminal. At least, not immediately. >I just wish he could get the USPS to stop seeing outbound international mail as a profit centre. In other words, you'd like to pay less when buying from the US. (There's nothing wrong with such a wish, but let's be clear about what you mean.) >Plenty of Americans could be exporting a lot more internationally, but the USPS has chosen high prices and low volumes. I know of no evidence that the USPS charges more to ship internationally than Canada Post, notorious among Canadians for high prices. On the contrary, it's sometimes cheaper for Canadians to ship to elsewhere in Canada by mailing from the US. (Discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/6rcn0v/canada_post_is_so_expensive_that_it_is_cheaper/ https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/6rcn0v/canada_post_... ) >As a Canadian that sometimes talks Americans into selling to me on Ebay, they find it a painful and costly experience compared to US sales. That's because it is, compared to mailing domestically. It'd be surprising otherwise, for any country. I've sold on eBay and Amazon for years and have shipped often to Canada and elsewhere; the procedure isn't that much more cumbersome. The vast, vast, vast majority of sales are within the US, however. It's quite possible for an American seller (whether on eBay or Amazon or with their own online sites) to make money solely from the US market. Canada is one ninth of the US and a smaller portion of potential sales for American sellers. A Canadian seller, on the other hand, knows that the American market is nine times larger than the domestic one, so has much more incentive to a) learn how to handle international orders, and b) be willing to pay the higher postage rates.

cameronbrown 7y ago

Walking away was just a bargaining chip. I never expected the US to leave.

ocdtrekkie 7y ago
Fundamentally, threatening to walk away only works if people believe you'll actually do it. (It's plausible Trump has additional influence here solely based on the fact him doing crazy %$&@ is considered "plausible".)
jackvalentine 7y ago
What would be the practical effect if the U.S. had left? Having to negotiate fees separately with every country?
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  I don't doubt they could do it if necessary. Disruption would probably be minimal. But like I said, I don't think it was ever on the table.
  - jackvalentine 7y ago
    I’m genuinely asking, is that what you have to do if you’re not part of this postal union or is there some other state you find yourself in as an outsider? Do packages stop getting routed via your country? I don’t know!

cc81 7y ago

Which is good. It has been discussed here in Sweden as well and it feels pretty odd that we would subsidize packages so they pay less sending something all the way from China than I would pay sending something to the next town. I get the history behind it but the world has changed since then.

Scoundreller 7y ago

Trump’e arguments weren’t wrong: it didn’t make sense for China to keep its below-average and below-cost fees for sending packages to the US. I just wish he could get the USPS to stop seeing outbound international mail as a profit centre. Plenty of Americans could be exporting a lot more internationally, but the USPS has chosen high prices and low volumes. As a Canadian that sometimes talks Americans into selling to me on Ebay, they find it a painful and costly experience compared to US sales.

microcolonel 7y ago
> As a Canadian that sometimes talks Americans into selling to me on Ebay, they find it a painful and costly experience compared to US sales. Indeed, buying from small U.S. suppliers into Canada is awful. The customs clearance fees are immense, and between those and CBSA, it seems that packages often arrive hastily repacked after a deep inspection, with permanent damage to the goods.
kelnos 7y ago
I wonder if the high prices for outbound international mail is an attempt to offset the losses on inbound mail from countries like China. If so, we might see better outbound rates after this goes into effect.
TMWNN 7y ago
>Trump’e arguments weren’t wrong Just say "Trump was right". You will not be condemned by bien-pensants as a thought-criminal. At least, not immediately. >I just wish he could get the USPS to stop seeing outbound international mail as a profit centre. In other words, you'd like to pay less when buying from the US. (There's nothing wrong with such a wish, but let's be clear about what you mean.) >Plenty of Americans could be exporting a lot more internationally, but the USPS has chosen high prices and low volumes. I know of no evidence that the USPS charges more to ship internationally than Canada Post, notorious among Canadians for high prices. On the contrary, it's sometimes cheaper for Canadians to ship to elsewhere in Canada by mailing from the US. (Discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/6rcn0v/canada_post_is_so_expensive_that_it_is_cheaper/ https://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/6rcn0v/canada_post_... ) >As a Canadian that sometimes talks Americans into selling to me on Ebay, they find it a painful and costly experience compared to US sales. That's because it is, compared to mailing domestically. It'd be surprising otherwise, for any country. I've sold on eBay and Amazon for years and have shipped often to Canada and elsewhere; the procedure isn't that much more cumbersome. The vast, vast, vast majority of sales are within the US, however. It's quite possible for an American seller (whether on eBay or Amazon or with their own online sites) to make money solely from the US market. Canada is one ninth of the US and a smaller portion of potential sales for American sellers. A Canadian seller, on the other hand, knows that the American market is nine times larger than the domestic one, so has much more incentive to a) learn how to handle international orders, and b) be willing to pay the higher postage rates.