US Threatens Withdrawal from Universal Postal Union

By Matthew Minford

White House officials have announced that the Trump Administration will act in accordance with a US State Department recommendation to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union, an UN-backed organization founded in 1874 that has governed global postal rates since 1969.

This action was recommended to President Trump on the grounds that the UPU currently allows China, among others, to ship products into the US for less than the rate American companies must pay when sending products domestically.

In a statement released by the White House, it is said that the US plans to exit the union no later than January 1, 2020, in accordance with the withdrawal process outlined in the UPU Constitution. If renegotiations between the US and the UPU of terminal dues are unsuccessful by this date, the US Government will establish rates of its own, and formally disregard those imposed by the UPU.

An opinion piece, run by the Washington Examiner, referred to the latest move as "playing a game of chicken with the international postal order." Whether the US actually does withdraw from the UPU in the beginning of 2020 or renegotiate more favorable rates and remain an organization nation member, they have just over a year to do it.

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[Cover image via @sidelinejones/Unsplash]

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