Well, that makes some sense.
Without going too deep into politics, “America First” has not been a policy here for a long time now, in many different ways.
The Universal Postal Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It comprises 192 member states and is headquartered in Bern, Switzerland. Wikipedia
On July 1, 2020, USPS raised the fees it charges for incoming parcels. International shippers, including from China, now have to pay $2.87 per package and $3.95 per kilogram (about 2.2 pounds). This is a huge increase in shipping costs on small parcels from China to the US. In the past, the cost to mail packages under 4.4 pounds (2 kilos) from China was less than the cost to ship the same package within the US. See below for more on the cheap postage that fueled China’s micro-eCommerce boom.
The bottom line is that the cost for shipping small packages from China to the US will be able double what it was in the past.
What is the Universal Postal Union Treaty?
The UPU, now an arm of the United Nations, was established in 1874 by the Treaty of Bern. Before this agreement, mailing letters across borders was complicated and often expensive.
Well, that was FOUR YEARS ago as of Monday and it hasn’t slowed down a single thing.
Having a treaty regulated by an organization that is part of the UN is not any way to expect fair treatment for developed nations.
Time for another revision!
I was surprised to find that the fees were raised in 2020 because it doesn’t seem that anything changed. Did something else change to offset the increase, perhaps in China?
Another thought.
These shipments, like Temu and Shain are small enough to pass duty free into the US.
Shipments to FBA usually exceed the limit ($800, I think) and are subject to duty.