Global postal union meets amid Trump threat to pull US out

GENEVA (AP) — The effects of President Donald Trump’s standoff with China could soon be coming to a post office near you, and higher shipping rates for some types of mail are the likely outcome.

The administration is threatening to pull the United States out of the 145-year-old Universal Postal Union, complaining that some postal carriers like China’s aren’t paying enough to have foreign shipments delivered to U.S. recipients.

A showdown looms at a special UPU congress from Tuesday to Thursday in Geneva.

The complaint centers on the reimbursement that the U.S. Postal Service receives for providing final deliveries of bulky letters and small parcels sent from abroad — usually ones not weighing more than 2 kilograms (about 4½ pounds). Such mail can include high-value items like mobile phones, memory sticks or pharmaceuticals.