Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Postal Service has launched a new international outbound shipping capability called USPS Delivered Duty Paid, the agency announced Jan. 30.
- The service enables shippers to prepay import duties, taxes and fees under the destination country's requirements, which aims to ensure the recipient won't face additional import charges upon delivery, per the announcement.
- USPS Delivered Duty Paid can be used by eligible customers to purchase when sending goods by Priority Mail International, Priority Mail Express International and First-Class Package International Service. It's available for shipments to Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, with expansion to other destinations expected in the future.
Dive Insight:
The Postal Service introduced Delivered Duty Paid as an option to address tariffs that apply to certain international shipments and the end of the U.S. de minimis exemption, according to a November filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission.
By paying the amount owed at the time of mailing, a shipper reduces the risk of the recipient rejecting the product due to unexpected import charges owed upon delivery, the Postal Service filing said. In turn, the shipper will avoid scenarios where they either have to abandon the rejected item or pay for its return.
The agency intends to charge a $0 fee for the service at first, as levying another cost on top of import duties and a third-party service fee could make Delivered Duty Paid too expensive, "potentially resulting in a reduction in volume," per the November filing. The Postal Service did not specify the cost of the third-party service fee.
"However, as customs requirements are likely to evolve, the Postal Service requires flexibility to increase the fee to, among other things, cover any costs that are required to implement new payment solutions," the agency said in the filing.
Despite the $0 fee from the Postal Service for Delivered Duty Paid, the agency said in the filing it doesn't expect that to create an advantage over competing services, as potential customers will likely weigh the total cost of shipping rather than a specific charge. UPS launched its Global Checkout service last year, which factors in applicable international duties, fees and taxes for online purchases prior to checkout.
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