Outside In | Going postal: how Donald Trump is threatening the international mail system
David Dodwell says the US president’s gripes that the American postal service is subsidising other countries’ trade – and singling out China – may be justified but here, as elsewhere, unilateralism is not the way forward
The blogger was furious: “I bought an item from a seller in Hong Kong for US$6 and US$1.50 shipping. The item was broken so the seller told me to return it for a refund. But to ship it back to Hong Kong with delivery confirmation using the US Postal Service will cost US$34.87. Without tracking it will cost US$11.48.
“How in the world did the China seller pay for the product, for eBay and PayPal fees, for packing material, and ship it to me WITH TRACKING for 1/4 of what it would cost me just in shipping costs alone to send the item back?”
Welcome to the weird, wonderful and voluptuously monopolised world of international mail, and the quirks of an international treaty that goes back to Bern in 1874, the birthplace of the 22 countries that created the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
As the organisation admits on its website: “Major changes in the international postal environment have brought a certain complexity to the system because of the need to prevent it from being circumvented and exploited to the prejudice of designated operators.” But it seems our irate blogger was venting about something more substantial than simple “complexity”.
For most of us, the idea of mailing a letter or parcel overseas seems simple. Wrap it, weigh it, stick on the stamps, and sit back confident that, in a few days, it will drop through a letterbox in time for your great aunt’s birthday.
