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From: alanj@orca.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.internat,misc.legal,net.travel
Subject: Re: postage for mail to foreign countries
Message-ID: <2203@orca.TEK.COM>
Date: Tue, 28-Oct-86 13:01:39 EST
Article-I.D.: orca.2203
Posted: Tue Oct 28 13:01:39 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 29-Oct-86 04:45:56 EST
References: <1275@ttrdc.UUCP>
Reply-To: alanj@orca.UUCP (Alan Jeddeloh)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville, OR
Lines: 69
Xref: mnetor net.internat:292 misc.legal:177 net.travel:2001

In article <1275@ttrdc.UUCP> levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy) writes:
>Anyhow, what I am wondering is whether, and how, the postal delivery system
>of a foreign country is reimbursed for its part in accepting, transporting,
>and delivering a piece of international paper, or parcel, mail which has
>originated in the USA, and for that matter, vice versa.  Are there treaties
>and procedures governing this, or what? 
> ....
> .... international postage must be doing something more than just
>paying the way of the mail it is attached to, to the border of the destination
>country, otherwise why higher postage to Canada and Mexico?  And surely the
>destination country's postal service isn't interested in completing the
>delivery gratis.  So what's up? 
>--

Almost all countries of the world are members of the International Postal
Federation, which was set up in the last century to deal with that exact
problem.  (Gad, I hope I have the name right!)  Prior to the establishment
of the IPF, each country had to establish separate treaties with every
other country in the world!

The IPF is basically a multi-way international treaty that says "I'll
deliver your mail if you deliver mine, and we'll settle the difference."
There are various minimum standards, such as the receiving country is
not supposed to interfere with mail to its citizens, something that
the USSR is frequntly accused of.

The IPF does not actually carry the mail.  Mail service between two
different countries varies widely --- an air-mail letter to Japan may
only take a couple days, while an air-mail letter to Poland can easily
take a month (I know).  The Polish letters pile up in New York til somebody
decides to ship them over, then the pile up in Poland for a while.
Surface mail takes even longer --- you get to add the time the letter
spends in the hold of a ship to the time the bureaucracy takes.

I don't think the IPF provides for setting the reimbursment rates.
I think what happens is the the receiving country bills the sending
country.  Actually, the rates from the US to Canada are the same for
the 1st ounce, and only 1 cent higher for additional ounces (18 vs 17
cents).  Postcards are the same rate.  I have no info on parcel post;
they may well be wildly different.

MAIL RATES
US to:
	Canada & Mexico
	1st class letter		$.22 (first ounce)
					 .18 (2nd & subsequent ozs.)
	Postcard			 .14

	Columbia, Venezuela, Central America,
	the Caribbian, Bahamas, Bermuda, St.
	Pierre & Miquelon
		Air letter		$.39 (per 1/2 oz.)
		Surface letter		 .37 (per 1/2 oz?)
		Air Postcard		 .33
		Surface postcard	 .25

	All other countries except
	Canada & Mexico	
		Air letter		$.44 (per 1/2 oz.)
		Surface letter		 .37 (per 1/2 oz?)
		Air postcard		 .33
		Surface postcard	 .25

	Aerogram			$.36 


	-Alan Jeddeloh
	Tektronix GTD
	tektronix!orca!alanj