I think you're referring to the Universal Postal Union's terminal dues, which are transfers between countries to compensate for last mile delivery imbalances. W

I think you're referring to the Universal Postal Union's terminal dues, which are transfers between countries to compensate for last mile delivery imbalances. While it's true that China is in Group 2 and the UK is in Group 1 (out of 4 total groups) when calculating terminal dues, the UK is actually a net winner because it pays less to deliver mail than the amount it receives in terminal dues [0]. The UPU definitely causes distortions in the price of international shipping but it's hard to pin the privatization of Royal Mail on this issue. [0] https://ideas.repec.org/h/elg/eechap/14533_20.html https://ideas.repec.org/h/elg/eechap/14533_20.html