Free shipping from China

[clubesquire]

I hope I’ve managed to copy the link correctly, but the article talks about President Trump end Free Shipping from China.

It appears the American Govco was subsidising it. If we are, it should stop here immediately too.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/10/trump-changes-terminal-dues-and-epacket-rates...

Melina.

[lyndal1838]

Yes Melina, Australia Post belongs to the Universal Postal Union too and delivers mail from China free or at a very low fee.

Most countries in the world belong.

If we are going to charge higher fees to deliver overseas mail you can be sure the other countries will reply in kind.....and up will go the AP charges to cover the fees to be paid to other countries.

Be careful what you wish for.

The postal situation ha been discussed at length on other threads on these boards.

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

The UPU rates for countries like China were set artificially low in order to assist there developing economies.  As the USA is point out - China no longer deserves such concessions to the detriment of the local USPS.

I would suggest that if AusPost also revised their UPU charges then there would be lettle, in reality no, negative impact to Australians shipping overseas.

[lyndal1838]

If you really believe that AP will not take any opportunity to raise their prices then you are giving them more credit than they deserve.

[clubesquire]

Hi Lyndal,

I’m lost and I’ll use those now famous words, please explain?

What Trump is talking about is reducing, or discontinuing subsidised postage FROM China to the US.

If we were to do the same for items FROM China I’m not understanding why it would follow that AP would increase our prices for postage OUTSIDE of Aus? 

Surely, wouldn’t it level up the playing field just a bit, and make Chines imports somewhat less attractive to Aussie buyers? Close the gap a bit?

Melina.

[padi*0409]

---

@clubesquire wrote:

What Trump is talking about is reducing, or discontinuing subsidised postage FROM China to the US.

---

"President Trump has vowed to alter this equation, announcing on Wednesday that he is instructing the U.S. Postal Service to levy higher fees on packages from international destinations, including China. The announcement was not very controversial: A variety of parties involved in e-commerce, from Amazon to U.S. small businesses to sellers on eBay, have been calling on the United States for a long time to charge more for delivery on behalf of foreign postal carriers."

The way I read that Melina is that he wants USPS to charge extra for the delivery within the US - there's no way he can dictate what China charges in postage up to the border of the US. The problem there is that someone has to pay for the extra postage, and I doubt very much that USPS is a charitable organisation so the recipient will have to pay the extra.

[clubesquire]

Thanks Lyndal, and yes,  I think we’ve both got the same handle on it. But, wouldn’t it be advantageous for local sellers if say Chinese seller items on eBay were more expensive for the consumer? Wouldn’t it level things up just a bit, not enough, but just a bit?

Mel.

[digital*ghost]

The issue becomes what other countries will do if we increase the cost to deliver their mail. You only have to look at what's happening with the trade wars Trump started by imposing tariffs - he imposed tariffs that saved a few jobs in the US but drastically increased costs in other Iocal industries and affected far more businesses and jobs negatively. Other countries responded in kind by imposing higher tariffs of their own.

What lyndal is saying is that if it higher costs are imposed to send from China, it's possible China will increase the cost to deliver our mail there - the impact of that is debatable since we import more than export, but increasing costs has a ripple effect that won't be good for everyone.

[clubesquire]

Ah! Yes, I understand. Thanks Digi 🙂

i am a bit slooooow sometimes .... lol.

My Gawd though, they seem to expect a lot.

Not that sending to China would bother most of us I suspect, but I see that it could travel upline and affect some big players and then ripple out to other sympathetic countries. So delicate.

Anyway thanks to you both for making that clearer 🙂

Melina.

[dazzledayz]

AP could charge an extra fee for delivery of O/S parcels to be paid by the recipient and still remain within the terms of UPU aggreements (as could the USPS).

I'm unsure about the new agreement that came into force this year, though previously, Aus, NZ and Canada had reserved the right to amend terminal dues at their own discretion.

All countries are bound by the UPU convention which was updated this year and will run for the next 3 or 4 years?

What Trump is proposing is for the US to actually pull out of the agreement entirely.

That's a horse of a much different colour as the the UPU is a UN body, so it's a bit like saying they (the US) want no further part of Human Rights agreements or Arctic/Antarctic Exploitation Treaties etc.

How the US could actually make the system work is a bit of a mystery as China Post is subsidised by the Chinese govt so who would accept the proferred bill for parcel delivery ie a revised bill for terminal dues?

That being said, the UPU does have provisions in place to supposedly control below cost subsidisation of outbound postal charges.

Trump does have a point that the Chinese are playing fast and loose with the terms of the existing UPU agreement.

He should remember his history though; it was high tariffs and trade barriers that were the main cause of Japan's involvement in WWII on the opposing side.

They had been allies against Germany in WWI.

I'm not saying postal charges will lead to global warfare but as Trump continues to lean on China, they are busily patching up relations with their old enemy Russia (who hold their rear) while fortifying the Sth China sea (their front) and rapidly (and massively) expanding their navy.

Interesting times indeed.