The International Postal Corporation has released its "Cross-Border Ecommerce Shopper Survey 2018," and the public report gives retailers, shippers, and others a snapshot of e-shoppers behavior and expectations. The survey findings draw on responses from 33,500 individuals in 41 markets. Among the key findings are the following: At the overall level, China accounted for 38 percent of the most recent cross-border purchases, followed by the United States (15 percent), the UK (1

A February 8 Bloomberg Government story quotes Peter Navarro, director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing, as saying, "Our strong preference is to do it within the UPU," but that the United States intends to set its own rates for the delivery of international packages, with or without the blessing of the Universal Postal Union. The full story, "Trump Aide Warns of Going It Alone," can be found at this link.

The Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), an agency within the Executive Office of the President, has issued a document that describes the Trump administration's rationale for withdrawing from the Universal Postal Union. The paper, "The U.S., the International Postal System, and the UPU: An Economic Framework,” elaborates on the United States’ position that the distortions in the terminal dues system harms domestic mailers and shippers. Click here for the CEA report. In October