• Tweeter

  • republish

American Post logo (illustration). Andrew Burton / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

Hurry up if you want to send a letter or package to the United States. What seems simple today, may well become a headache in the coming days. Washington threatens to withdraw from the UPU, the Universal Postal Union. Reason: the low tariffs granted to China that can send its small electronic devices cheaply in the United States. A last-chance meeting takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Geneva. At the UN, we are already preparing for a mini-Brexit mailbox version.

With our correspondent in Geneva , Jérémie Lanche

Washington denounces for years the discounts granted to the Chinese Post. But the grumbling took a more threatening turn after the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House. If the United States withdraws from the UPU, an iPhone made in China as a simple postcard to the United States may be blocked at customs.

American stamps will no longer be recognized for international shipments. " Postal products are now passing customs because all of this is standardized ," says Pascal Clivaz, the UPU's number two. The day you can no longer use these access or exit codes, it will be freight. This will no longer be mail. At first, it will block and in a second, they will find because nature hates emptiness. We find solutions, but it will increase the price »

Negotiations in Geneva

Behind the scenes, Western chancelleries tend to agree with the United States on the merits. But the collateral damage of a possible American withdrawal goes beyond the only trade war with China. " The US territory generates about 20% of global traffic today , continues Clivaz. Some volumes from South America or the Caribbean pass through the United States. So, that takes into account all these elements. This may be one of the reasons why everyone argues for the retention of the United States of America in the Universal Postal Union "

Officially, UPU members have until Wednesday to find a way out. Washington sent about 40 people to Geneva for negotiations. Including the White House economic adviser Peter Navaro, a hard-line supporter of Beijing.

#UPU_UN Extraordinary Congress on #Remuneration to open Tuesday in #Geneva. Some 800 attendees are expected to attend the international conference of letters and packets https://t.co/H4rN91d8Bp #postaltogether @PostEurop @PostalHubPod pic.twitter.com/TaV5ImZ5D8

UniversalPostalUnion (@UPU_UN) September 23, 2019