Geneva: The Universal Postal Union (UPU) – the UN specialised agency for global postal cooperation – has initiated a solution to assist postal operators in resuming deliveries to the United States. This follows a significant reduction in postal traffic to the country, which plunged over 80% after the suspension of the duty-free de minimis exemption effective from 29 August.
According to Emirates News Agency, the UPU is actively developing a new technical solution to address the disruption and ensure the continuous flow of postal items. UPU Director General Masahiko Metoki emphasized the organization’s commitment to maintaining global postal circulation and announced the deployment of a landed-cost calculator. This tool, accessible via an application programming interface (API), allows postal operators to calculate and collect necessary duties from customers at the point of origin.
Postal operators can now integrate this API into their retail and counter systems. The UPU is also providing support for the com
plete rollout of this solution, which includes adapting internal procedures and training postal staff. The data exchanged through the UPU’s electronic network indicates an 81% decrease in postal traffic from member countries to the US on 29 August, compared to the previous week.
Additionally, 88 postal operators have reported to the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal services to the US. This move underscores the extensive impact of the US Executive Order removing the de minimis exemption for low-value goods, prompting a need for the swift implementation of the UPU’s solution.