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Why does the US have to withdraw instead of negotiating? The US are not the only country that is unhappy about the shipping rates with China. The postal treaty however is hugely important for smaller countries. I don’t want a world where the US destroy the entire postal system for the rest of us.
Will this affect the myriad of businesses that assemble products in the US?
This would end an absurd international postage welfare program that China benefits from, pretending to be as poor and developing as they were 30 or 40 years ago.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Whoever thought it would be advantageous for packages from China to cost less to ship than equivalent packages within the USA, is beyond me. As a consumer I think it's advantageous. I'd much prefer to pay no shipping when compared to paying significant amounts for shipping, regardless of where the package originates.
You’re paying the costs, just indirectly via taxes and artificially higher US shipping costs.
This kinda reminds me of the conversation I had with my brother in law regarding the likes of SingAir, Emirates, and Qatar and just how much better they are when compared to US carriers that charge more on the same route despite providing an inferior product comparatively. He started on about how those air carriers are government subsidised, it's not fair, and I shouldn't be flying with them because of that. I told him I didn't care about the underlying business model, I want new aircraft, well trained staff, good quality food as well as service. Every one of those government subsidised carriers over deliver on every one of those metrics when compared to their US equivalents.
Sure, some people will take a stand because they feel the need to do so. But in general I don't believe most people care how their goods and services are subsidised, only that they believe they've received a better deal when compared to similar offerings from other providers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It does require having to leave the treaty - if the UPU Congress refuses to reclassify China. The threat to leave, is meant to apply enough pressure to finally get that reclassification accomplished. They've been intentionally dragging their feet on this matter over time and they only meet under normal circumstances every four years (they can of course hold emergency sessions). It's the exact same problem the US has…
I heavily dislike that america just leaves treaties it does not like instead of improving them. Most smaller countries cannot use the same method. If my country for instance were to do thay nobody would ship there any more because the billing system would be too complex and expensive and the market is just too small.
Sure, but America can, so why shouldn’t it?
This is absolutely a good idea. Whoever thought it would be advantageous for packages from China to cost less to ship than equivalent packages within the USA, is beyond me. I hope there are positive economic and environmental results from this move. What will be the unintended consequences I wonder?
What will be the unintended consequences I wonder? Small businesses who use dropshipping direct from Chinese companies will stop being able to compete with big businesses who buy in bulk and ship from US warehouses. This will benefit the likes of Amazon more than anyone else. Not sure if that's an unintended consequence though.
A _huge_ chunk of Amazon is low effort Chinese clone / drop shipped crap or straight up forgery. I don't feel sorry for /r/entrepreneur denizens' loss.
It will help the kind of small business with core competencies revolving around producing things and hurt the kind of small business with core competencies revolving around buying things on Alibaba and selling them on Amazon.
People who actually wanted to do things well often couldn't even afford to ship their product for the entire price of product + shipping for lots of dropshipped things under the old ways. I'm happy that the class of business that monetizes outdated shipping policy are going away.
So is this going to make it worse? Because this is an enormous incentive NOT to buy any US goods
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Whoever thought it would be advantageous for packages from China to cost less to ship than equivalent packages within the USA, is beyond me. As a consumer I think it's advantageous. I'd much prefer to pay no shipping when compared to paying significant amounts for shipping, regardless of where the package originates.
You’re paying the costs, just indirectly via taxes and artificially higher US shipping costs.
So sure, people living in the US are paying those costs "as a whole", but you don't pay any additional cost when you order a package.
It's like how driving on public roads is free, in the common sense of the word, even though of course the costs are still "paid" somehow, by somebody.
We have the same issue in Switzerland with cheap packages from China which are received as mail but do not fit through the automated sorting system. This requires a lot of manual labor which increases the costs for the postal service. This is why sometime this year people who receive such mail will be billed additional fees increasing slowly over the next few years. The treaty allows under developed nations to ship a…
It does require having to leave the treaty - if the UPU Congress refuses to reclassify China. The threat to leave, is meant to apply enough pressure to finally get that reclassification accomplished. They've been intentionally dragging their feet on this matter over time and they only meet under normal circumstances every four years (they can of course hold emergency sessions). It's the exact same problem the US has…
So something needs to be done, either China truly opens up its market, or continue this trade war disputes for decades to come. ( Which might turn into a real war )
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also ebay and etsy have significant China-based Merchants.
Amazon won't be spared, either.