GENEVA: Postal traffic to the United States plunged more than 80 percent following Washington’s imposition of new tariffs, with 88 operators worldwide fully or partially suspending services, the Universal Postal Union said Saturday.
The UPU, the United Nations’ postal cooperation agency, is working on “the rapid development of a new technical solution that will help get mail moving to the United States again”, its director general Masahiko Metoki said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced in late July that it was abolishing a tax exemption on small packages entering the United States from August 29.
The move sparked a flurry of announcements from postal services, including in Australia, Britain, France, Germany, India, Italy and Japan, that most US-bound packages would no longer be accepted.
The UPU said data exchanged between postal operators via its electronic network showed that traffic to the United States was down 81 percent on August 29, compared to a week earlier.
“Furthermore, 88 postal operators informed the UPU they have suspended some or all postal services to the US until a solution is implemented,“ it said.
These included Germany’s Deutsche Post, Britain’s Royal Mail and two operators in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Based in the Swiss capital Bern, the UPU was established in 1874 and counts 192 member states. It sets the rules for international mail exchanges and makes recommendations to improve services – AFP
