For those of us who purchase N-Scale items from Japan, commencing on April 1, 2021, it will cost more to receive packages from Japan.
Following the
U.S. Postal Service's temporary price increase (i.e., in effect from October 18, 2020 until December 27, 2020) on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select, and Parcel Return Service parcels, Japan Post plans on raising its rates on small package shipments to the United States.
While private sector carriers such as DHL, FedEx, and UPS are not effected by the changes instituted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 2019, the global postal rates charged by post offices around the world are likely to be substantially different in 2021.
After the U.S. threatened (i.e., in 2019) to leave the UPU in 2020 over complaints about sellers in developing countries (i.e. such as China) having the ability to ship items to the U.S. for far less than it costs U.S. sellers to ship similar products within their own country, or to foreign destinations, an amendment was adopted that allows shipping charges to be increased significantly, in order to enable post offices in countries like the U.S. to cover their actual delivery costs.
Comprised of 192 member countries, all UPU members now have the chance to self-declare the rates that foreign postal services charge for service when mail or packages cross their borders.
With the U.S. being the first nation to be granted this self-declaration status in 2020, the new international rates are initially capped at 70% of the domestic rates, with an option to increase the rates an additional 1% every year up until 80% has been reached.
In January 2021, should they choose to do so, other countries will have the opportunity to self-declare.
Japan has announced that it has elected to self-declare.
Because of a substantial rise in postage rates for International ePacket, International ePacket Light, Air-Small Packet, SAL Small Packet, and Surface Small Packet shipments to the United States and its overseas territories, the new Zone 4 was created.
The following information was published on the
Japan Post Partial Revision of International Postage Rates page:
Why is it necessary to revise international postage rates?International postage rates include a delivery charge that is paid by the (postal service? postal operator?) of the sender’s country to that of the recipient’s country.
Previously, the delivery charge had been set rather low by the UPU, considering the situation of developing countries.
However, at the Extraordinary Congress of the UPU in 2019, the convention provision governing the delivery charge was amended with the result that the charge increased significantly.
It is necessary to revise some international postage rates so as to properly reflect this increase in the delivery charge paid to other countries.
Why is the United States defined as a new postage rate zone (Zone 4)?Because the delivery charges of the United States will increase much more than those of other countries.
Therefore, we will separate the postage rates for items to the U.S. from the current Zone 2 and define Zone 4 as a new postage rate zone.
In addition, the U.S.'s external territories such as Guam and Saipan will have the same delivery charges so these territories will be integrated into Zone 4.
Suddenly, it now appears that the DHL shipping rates that many of us considered to be high, may actually be inline with those that might be coming from international post offices in 2021.
