Pricing & Classification DMM Advisory

March 27, 2020

UPDATE 10: International Mail Service Disruptions Due to COVID-19

On March 27, 2020, the Postal Service™ received notifications from various postal operators regarding changes in international mail services due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The following countries have suspended certain mail services:

Panama: Correos de Panamá has advised that the Panamanian government has adopted new public health measures, and has extended the countrywide curfew to 24 hours a day effective March 25, 2020, for the duration of the state of national emergency. Given this situation, all categories of inbound and outbound mail are suspended until further notice. Furthermore, Correos de Panamá is no longer in a position to guarantee delivery standards for incoming and outgoing mail and is invoking force majeure, until further notice.

Romania: CN Poșta Română SA has advised that, owing to the suspension of flights, it is currently unable to send letter-post and parcel-post items to an increasing number of countries both within and outside the European Union. Therefore, it is no longer accepting letter-post and parcel-post items for international destinations to which transport capacities are unavailable. In addition, it is unable to send any outbound Express Mail Service (EMS) items and will no longer accept such items until sufficient transport capacity becomes available

As a convenience for our customers, the Postal Service will continue to accept and process mail destined for the aforementioned countries. This mail will be held within our network and will be delivered once mail service is restored.

The following countries have announced service disruptions:

Cape Verde, Correios de Cabo Verde has advised that the government of Cabo Verde has declared an emergency for at least three weeks beginning March 18, 2020. Cape Verde has closed its borders and suspended all flights to all EU countries, United States of America, Brazil, Senegal and Nigeria. All UPU member countries are advised to expect serious delays for both inbound and outbound mail as a result of the numerous flight reductions and cancellations. Correios de Cabo Verde will continue to operate during its normal working hours.

France: La Poste has advised that, until further notice, it is implementing additional safeguards for parcel-post items to protect the health and safety of La Poste’s staff, including;

• Offices of exchange FRAINB, FRBLDB, FRCYMA, FRDVRB, FRERNA, FRERNB, FRMCRA, FRSLMB and FRTLSJ will be closed on Monday, March 30, Tuesday, March 31, and Saturday, April 4, 2020;

• Effective Monday, March 30, 2020, only items weighing less than 15 kg and with a maximum package size of 12.5 x 9.4 x 9.4 inches (32 cm x 24 cm x 24 cm) will be delivered by its commercial network;

• Every effort will be made to provide the service, but delivery standards will not be guaranteed;

• All other packages will be subject to delayed service.

Germany: Deutsche Post has advised that owing to a lack of transport capacity following the cancellation of numerous international flights they have suspended the acceptance of postal items destined for the affected countries. The list of affected destination countries is likely to change every day, and an overview is available online at https://www.deutschepost.de/en/c/coronavirus.html. Suspensions will apply until sufficient transport capacities become available. Additionally, Deutsche Post has implemented physical distancing requirements: inbound items requiring a payment by the recipient, such as cash-on-delivery (COD) or the payment of customs duties and taxes, will be immediately directed to a postal outlet for collection. Recipients will receive a notification as to which postal outlet is holding their item for collection.

Hong Kong: Hongkong Post has announced temporarily changes its delivery process for all items requiring signature on delivery. Effective, March 28, 2020, for letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items requiring signature on delivery, when performing at-the-door delivery, mail carrier will not obtain a signature from the recipient to reduce human interaction. In case of an unsuccessful delivery attempt, the recipient will receive a notification with instructions to collect the item at a designated post office. The collection arrangements at the post office remains unchanged.

Iceland: Iceland Post has advised that many international flights have been cancelled, resulting in a lack of transport capacity. Consequently, Iceland Post is currently unable to send postal items to any countries outside the European Union, with the exception of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Norway, Russian Federation, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Iceland Post is therefore declaring a situation of force majeure. Delays are also to be expected for postal items destined for the Union member countries listed above.

New Zealand: New Zealand Post has advised that effective March 25, 2020, the Government of New Zealand has raised the COVID-19 alert level to 4 (the highest level) and introduced wide-ranging measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. New Zealand Post will remain in operation during the alert level 4 lockdown period, insofar as possible. However, New Zealand Post can no longer guarantee service delivery standards. It is therefore invoking a situation of force majeure in relation to any such standards, until further notice. A number of measures have been implemented to ensure the safety of both customers and staff, effective until further notice. These include the following:

• Delivery changes: The mail carrier will knock at the door as usual, step back away from the door, and ask for the recipient’s name to record proof of delivery.

• Over-the-counter services have been discontinued effective March 25, 2020. It will also mean a reduction in the capacity to accept international outbound items, and a reduction in export volumes is therefore to be expected while alert level 4 remains in effect.

• Businesses that are deemed to provide essential services are still able to send their products.

• Owing to the suspension of many flights and the resulting reduction in transport capacity, New Zealand Post is limited in its ability to send outbound mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) to foreign countries. Please visit www.nzpost.co.nz/contact-support/international-mail-updates for up-to-date information on the affected countries.

Russian Federation: Russian Post has advised that, owing to the quarantine measures implemented in Moscow to minimize the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the fact that the principal office of exchange for imports is located in Moscow, Russian Post is unable to guarantee compliance with delivery standards. As a result, Russian Post is invoking a situation of force majeure with regard to quality of service for all categories of mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) until further notice.

Ukraine: Ukrposhta has advised that the Government of Ukraine declared a state of emergency across the country until April 24, 2020, to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. Ukrposhta is maintaining its operations, with measures in place to protect staff and customers. Delays are to be expected in the delivery of all inbound mail (letter-post, parcel-post and EMS items) destined to Ukraine. In order to minimize human contact, it will not be mandatory for mail carriers to collect and provide written proof of delivery; registered items (other than summons) will be left in addressees' mailboxes, and inbound international postal items will be stored at post offices free of charge until the end of the state of emergency.

These service disruptions affect Priority Mail Express International^® (PMEI), Priority Mail International^® (PMI), First-Class Mail International^® (FCMI), First-Class Package International Service^® (FCPIS^®), International Priority Airmail^® (IPA^®), International Surface Air Lift^® (ISAL^®), and M-Bag^® items.

The DMM Advisory will continue to update mailers regarding new service disruptions as they are received. For a full list of international service disruptions, please visit https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/welcome.htm