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Trump ditches 144-year-old postal pact that boosts Chinese retailers
Thank you President Trump and advisors. Now inspect every package for fentanyl.[WashingtonPost] President Trump moved Wednesday to withdraw from a 144-year-old international postal agreement that enables businesses in China to mail small packages to the United States at a hefty discount, an arrangement government officials said boosts foreign competitors and costs the U.S. Postal Service roughly $170 million per year. Trump’s notice to exit from the Universal Postal Union (UPU) treaty comes as the White House cranks up the pressure on Beijing to drop what it calls predatory commercial practices, including swiping trade secrets from American companies operating in China. "This has been a long-standing, long-festering problem," said Robert Taub, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent federal agency. "The current system has led to the United States subsidizing the imports of small packages from other countries," said Jeff Adams, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service. Under the treaty, which sets fees that national carriers in 192 countries charge for mail delivery, the U.S. Postal Service bills China-based companies at a sharply discounted rate for parcels that weigh less than 4.4 pounds. Trump administration officials say the leg up, granted under a 1969 provision, was intended to promote growth in poor countries. But it remained in place after China became an e-commerce powerhouse. The deal has allowed the country to flood the United States with cheap goods at shipping discounts of up to 70 percent, putting American companies at a disadvantage and straining the U.S. mail system while fueling growth abroad, Taub said. That resulted in $170 million in losses for the post office last year. Posted by: Snose Ebboluns6560 2018-10-18 |
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