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Pricing & Classification DMM Advisory

Message board to keep postal customers informed of changes to mailing standards, services, and prices.
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May 14, 2020

International Service Impacts – Country Suspensions as of May 15, 2020

The Postal Service™ will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance for certain destinations due to service impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effective May 15, 2020, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance to destinations where the foreign postal operator has indicated that they are unable to process or deliver international mail or services originating from the United States.

Customers are asked to refrain from mailing items addressed to the following country, until further notice:

  • British Virgin Islands

This service disruption affects 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.

Unless otherwise noted, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail.

For already deposited items, other than Global Express Guarantee® (GXG®), Postal Service employees will endorse the items as “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender” and then place them in the mail stream for return.

Due to COVID-19, international shipping has been suspended to many countries. According to DMM 604.9.2.3, customers are entitled to a full refund of their postage costs when service to the country of destination is suspended.

The detailed procedures to obtain refunds for Retail Postage, eVS, PC Postage, and BMEU entered mail can be found through the following link: https://postalpro.usps.com/international-refunds

The Postal Service is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to update customers until the situation returns to normal. Please visit our International Service Alerts page for the most up to date information: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/?utm_source=residential&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=res_to_intl