Below is a snapshot of notable developments on international postal issues in the third quarter of 2019. Systemic Reforms at the Universal Postal Union Following a September 24-26 Extraordinary Congress, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) adopted sweeping reforms to its remuneration system. The Trump Administration had threatened to leave the UPU on...
Everybody wins. That’s the feeling after the Universal Postal Union, or UPU acceded to U.S. wishes for more autonomy in setting postal rates paid to collect, sort and ship international small packages. A special UPU congress, convened to address U.S. concerns, adopted a plan Wednesday to raise rates starting July 1, 2020....
The Universal Postal Union agreed to a compromise Wednesday that would allow the United States to set its own inbound postage rates and remain within the organization the Trump administration had previously threatened to leave. After rejecting a handful of earlier options, more than half the 192-country body voted in favor...
A federal court dealt a major blow to the U.S. Postal Service on Friday, ruling that the mailing agency’s five-cent price increase for stamps that went into effect earlier this year is illegal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with Doug Carlson, a private citizen, who filed his petition...
When the US helped found the Universal Postal Union in 1874, it was seeking to create “a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of correspondence”. But the UPU’s antiquated system for setting international postal rates, known as “terminal dues”, has not kept pace with the dramatic rise in ecommerce...
The USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) studied how the Postal Service engages with microbusinesses and issued a report with recommendations. It found microbusinesses to be generally satisfied with the Postal Service but advised it to do more to boost awareness of key products and services. Press release follows: Microbusinesses are...