Pos Malaysia to mitigate impact of any USPS pullout

PETALING JAYA: Pos Malaysia Bhd has warned of a potential negative fallout should the United States Postal Service (USPS) leave the 145-year-old Universal Postal Union (UPU) on Oct 17.

The Malaysian postal service is working closely with the government and all relevant bodies to mitigate the impact should the USPS carry out its threat.

The USPS’ move to leave the UPU will cause a huge impact and result in potential high rates and the instability of the postal system around the world, it said in a statement yesterday.

“A deregulation consideration is a possible option to cushion the potential soaring of postal and parcel rates globally. Albeit the revision of rates that come into agreement, our priority is to ensure that we will continuously provide the affordability of postal services to all users, ” it said.

According to wire reports, the USPS’ threat to withdraw is the effect of President Donald Trump’s standoff with China which would result in higher shipping rates for some types of mail.

The Trump administration is threatening to pull the United States out of the UPU, complaining that some postal carriers like China’s aren’t paying enough to have foreign shipments delivered to US recipients.

The USPS’ threat to leave the UPU on Oct 17 is looming at a special UPU Congress in Geneva from Tuesday to Thursday.

In total, three proposals have been tabled and all options will see a high-cost impact to postal operators across the globe, it said.

“While Malaysia’s stand is for the status quo and a more matured new proposal to be studied and submitted in the next Abidjan UPU Congress in 2020, it is likely that a new option, proposed by the United States, will be voted through at this extraordinary congress, ” it added.

Pos Malaysia said even though the United States has not singled out China, most products from e-commerce come from China either directly or through third countries in Asia. Countries like Malaysia are caught in the crossfire of this escalated trade war.

The company said while it would work to minimise the impact for Malaysia’s consumers and businesses, it would not lose sight of its transformation agenda.

“This will be built upon Pos Malaysia’s unmatched distribution network and the vast opportunity to develop new digital businesses for its customers, ” it said.

According to AP, the complaint centres on the reimbursement that the USPS receives for providing final deliveries of bulky letters and small parcels sent from abroad – usually ones not weighing more than two kg. Such mail can include high-value items like mobile phones, memory sticks or pharmaceuticals. For consumers, the issue has largely been overlooked.

Source: TheStar