One reason China has been able to clean the United State’s economic clock for 30+ years is that it has secured much lower international postal rates from the United Nations-affiliated Universal Postal Union (UPU).  This is an economic stimulant for Chinese manufacturers, retailers and e-commerce businesses at the expense of their U.S. competitors. 

President Trump has taken strong steps to end this, and by accelerated unilateral action, the administration can lock in a clear and tangible trade win over China. 

Today, it costs 65 percent or less to send a small package (4.4 pounds or lighter) from Beijing to the United States than to send that same package even a few miles within the United States.  And the losses on these low-cost shipments are borne by the U.S. Postal Service, or more exactly, U.S. customers of the Postal Service. 

Amazingly, despite having the second largest economy in the world, China has been able to get itself categorized as a developing country within the UPU.  This entitles China to drastically lower international postal rates. 

In an August 23 presidential memorandum and subsequent Oct. 17 announcement, the administration made resoundingly clear it wants to end the preferential treatment that shippers from China and some other countries receive.  The administration has also said it will take related actions to modernize and improve the international postal system, such as eliminating the UPU’s legal authority over customs and security controls. 

Many business organizations, such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have strongly praised the president’s UPU actions.  Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Robert Taub has also spoken strongly of the need for reforms saying, “The anticompetitive nature of the Universal Postal Union has concerned the United States government since the Reagan administration.”