New rules - then packages from China become more expensive

Following an agreement at the Post Union Extraordinary Congress in Geneva, it is clear that the United Nations International World Postal Union considers China to be classified as an industrial country rather than a developing country, as has been the case in the past.

Thus, Sweden and other countries may require 70 per cent cost coverage for receiving international parcels. Countries also have the opportunity to gradually increase cost coverage.

The message is welcomed by the trade organization Svensk Handel, which has long criticized the system for contributing to distorted competition.

“For Swedish traders, this change is important. It would be absurd to continue to subsidize the world's most competitive e-commerce nation, ”writes Mats Hedenström, Business Policy Manager at Swedish Trade in a press release.

According to a survey conducted by Copenhagen Economics on behalf of Svensk Handel, packages of up to 2 kilos have on average been almost 60 percent more expensive to ship in Sweden than from merchants in China to customers in Sweden.

Postnord is satisfied, and hopes that the agreement will lead to lower distribution costs, reports Sweden's Radio Ekot.

"There have been discounted terminal fees or postal delivery fees for a very long time and now we are approaching what it really costs to distribute these letters," Peter Hesslin, head of e-commerce and logistics, tells Ekot .