WASHINGTON — Effective Nov.15, Post Offices will begin accepting packages containing lithium batteries installed in electronic devices bound for many international destinations, and Army (APO), Fleet (FPO) and Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) locations.

“The Postal Service is pleased to be back in the business of shipping gifts containing lithium batteries internationally and to our service members overseas,” said Giselle Valera, vice president, Global Business. “Postal employees are gearing up for a busy holiday season, and we’re ready to help customers send care packages to loved ones around the world.”

Easy, convenient, multi-lingual and always at the fingertips, usps.com has a complete suite of tools to help with shipping gifts containing lithium batteries:

• APO/FPO/DPO Mailing Guidelines:  www.usps.com/send/apo.htm
• Preparing International Mail Shipments:  www.usps.com/send/prepare-international-shipments.htm
• Free Shipping Supplies:  www.prioritymail.com/freesupplies.asp
• Create Package Labels:  cns.usps.com/go
• Fill Out Customs Forms Online:  usps.com/ship/customs-forms.htm
• Pay For Postage Online with Click-N-Ship:  reg.usps.com/entreg/RegistrationAction!input.action
• Request Free Package Pickup:  tools.usps.com/go/ScheduleAPickupAction!input.action
• International Holiday Shipping/Mailing Dates:  www.usps.com/shippingdates/welcome.htm

“The Postal Service is always working to make package shipping more and more convenient,” said Valera. “Customers can visit the Post Office that’s always open, 24/7, usps.com, to ship holiday care packages without ever having to leave the comfort of home or office.”

The Postal Service has been recognized for excellence in international package delivery performance and international call center service by the Universal Postal Union’s Express Mail Service (EMS) Cooperative Network with the 2011 EMS Performance Award, silver level category, and the 2011 EMS Customer Care Award, large group category. The Postal Service also won the 2010 EMS Performance Award, silver level, and the 2009 EMS Performance Award, bronze level.

USPS participates in the International Post Corporation’s Environmental Measurement and Monitoring System, the global postal industry’s program to reduce its carbon footprint 20 percent by 2020.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. The Postal Service™ receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com®, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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The Universal Postal Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is an inter-governmental organization and the primary forum for cooperation between governments, Posts and other stakeholders of the worldwide postal sector. It works to maintain the universal network, establish the rules for international mail exchanges among its 191 members and improves the quality of service for customers.

The EMS Cooperative Network was created in 1998 within the framework of the UPU. Its main objective is to promote cooperation between members to allow them to provide customers with a high quality, competitive EMS service worldwide. It has a membership of more than 170 voluntary postal operators, covering more than 90 percent of global EMS traffic.