In October 2018, the Trump administration announced that the US was withdrawing from the Universal Postal Union, a system set up way back in 1874 that was designed to level the playing field for shipping small packages across 192 countries. While the system made sense back then, and helped to standardize rates and other facets of international shipping, it has, in effect, provided certain countries with an unfair advantage over the US. More specifically, US businesses have been hurt by the arrangement since businesses operating out of China have been able to ship to the US at a fraction of the cost for what a US business must pay to ship a similarly-sized package to China. A last minute vote to keep the US in the UPU is scheduled for late September but many feel the effort is futile and that the US will still withdraw from the accord some time this October.
From our standpoint, we welcome the decision for the US to withdraw from the UPU. China was first granted this privilege in 1969 when it was still considered to be a developing nation. Fast forward to 2019 and China has become one of the largest economies in the world, second only to the US. To grant them an unfair advantage at this point in time would be foolhardy and it would come at a time when the US Postal Service continues to report record deficits.
While we recognize that it will cost much more for a US-based consumer to purchase something from China, we feel that the time has come to remove any and all advantages a country such as China has held sway over the US, particularly in light of the failed trade talks between the two countries. If China wants to act responsibly and in good faith then they must abide by the conditions of the US trade representatives and any and all advantages they currently hold over US businesses must be removed in order for fair trade to exist now and in the future.