International Mail

IMM REVISION

International Mail — Conversion Rates Between U.S. Dollars and Special Drawing Right (SDR) Values, and Indemnity Limits for Ordinary Parcel Post

Effective January 1, 2007, Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) 324.22 and Exhibit 324.22 are revised to reflect a change in the conversion rates between U.S. dollars and special drawing right (SDR) values. Also, Exhibit 281.3 is revised to reflect a change in ordinary parcel post indemnity limits, which are based on SDR values. Furthermore, the Individual Country Listing for each applicable country is revised to reflect a change in the ordinary parcel post indemnity limits.

Postal ServiceTM retail employees use the information about SDR values when an insured parcel is presented for mailing. Employees must write the insured amount, stated in terms of both U.S. dollars and SDR values, in the designated blocks on PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note - CP 72.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)

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2 Conditions for Mailing

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280 Parcel Post

281 Description

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281.3 Weight and Indemnity Limits

Exhibit 281.3 lists the weight and indemnity limits for ordinary parcel post.

Exhibit 281.3

Ordinary Parcel Post Weight and Indemnity Limits

[Revise Exhibit 281.3 to reflect new parcel post indemnity limits as follows:]

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3 Special Services

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320 Insurance

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324 Processing Requests

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324.2 Marking

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324.22 Retail Employee's Responsibility

The retail employee must:

[Revise items a, b, and c and Exhibit 324.22 to read as follows:]

a. Indicate on the parcel the amount for which the parcel is insured. Write the amount in ink and express the amount in U.S. currency and special drawing right (SDR) values, indicating both amounts in figures only. For example:

INSURED VALUE

$100 (U.S.)

68.60 SDR

b. See Exhibit 324.22 for a table showing the conversion of U.S. dollar values up to $600 to SDR equivalents. To determine SDR equivalents above $600, multiply the insured amount, rounded up to the next full dollar, by the conversion factor of 0.6860.

Note: Use the following rates when converting between U.S. dollars and special drawing right (SDR) values:

$1 U.S. = 0.6860 SDR

1 SDR = $1.46 U.S. ($1.4577 U.S.)

c. Enter the insured number, insured amount, and SDR equivalent on PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note CP - 72.

Exhibit 324.22

Conversion Table: U.S. Dollars to Special Drawing Right (SDR) Values

$1 U.S. = 0.6860 SDR

1 SDR = $1.46 U.S. [$1.4577 U.S.]

Exhibit 324.22

Conversion Table: U.S. Dollars to Special Drawing Right (SDR) Values

$1 U.S. = 0.6860 SDR

1 SDR = $1.46 U.S. [$1.4577 U.S.]

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Individual Country Listings

[Revise the Individual Country Listing for every country that has airmail parcel post service and that offers indemnity by replacing the "Note" underneath the table to read as follows (note that the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia have airmail parcel post service but do not offer indemnity):]

Note: Ordinary air parcel post includes indemnity at no cost based on weight. For an item not over 1 pound, the indemnity is $61.28, and the indemnity increases at just less than $3.00 for each pound or fraction up to a maximum of 70 pounds, which has an indemnity of $266.59. (See 280.)

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[Revise the Individual Country Listing for every country that has economy mail parcel post service and that offers indemnity by replacing the "Note" underneath the table to read as follows (note that the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia have economy mail parcel post service but do not offer indemnity):]

Note: Ordinary economy parcel post includes indemnity at no cost based on weight. For an item not over 1 pound, the indemnity is $61.28, and the indemnity increases at just less than $3.00 for each pound or fraction up to a maximum of 70 pounds, which has an indemnity of $266.59. (See 280.)

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We will incorporate these revisions into the printed version of IMM 34 and also into the next online update of the IMM, which can be accessed via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 1-4-07

IMM AND PUBLICATION 51 REVISIONS

Redeeming International Reply Coupons

Effective January 1, 2007, we are revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) 372 and Publication 51, International Postal Rates and Fees, to reflect current procedures in our redemption policy for international reply coupons (IRCs).

Note: This policy change is only for IRCs issued by foreign postal administrations - U.S.-origin coupons are not affected. U.S.-origin IRCs are distinguishable from foreign- origin IRCs because they bear the legend "Amérique (Etats-Unis)" on the front side.

As of January 1, 2007, customers are no longer able to redeem the following foreign-origin IRCs at U.S. Post OfficesTM:

• IRCs issued before 2002.

• IRCs bearing an expiration date of December 31, 2006.

The pre-2002 IRCs are approximately 2.5 inches by 4 inches and do not have a barcode on the back, whereas the current version of the IRCs printed by the Universal Postal Union is approximately 3.75 inches by 6 inches and can be distinguished by the barcode on the back.

IRCs with the 12-31-06 expiration date bear the following language on the front side: "A èchanger jusqu'au 31.12.2006." IRCs currently offered for sale by the Postal ServiceTM and foreign postal administrations do not expire until December 31, 2009.

Retail associates should advise customers to return pre-2002 IRCs and IRCs with the 12-31-06 expiration date to their correspondents in the country of issue for redemption through the postal administration that issued the coupon.

Starting below are images of the front and back of the pre-2002 IRC, of the IRC with the 12-31-06 expiration date, and of the current IRC.

Note: The images of the pre-2002 IRC are shown in the same size as the other IRCs even though, as mentioned above, the pre-2002 IRCs are smaller than the other IRCs.

IRC Issued Before 2002

IRC Bearing an Expiration Date of December 31, 2006

Current IRC

International Mail Manual (IMM)

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3 Special Services

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370 Supplemental Services

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372 International Reply Coupons

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372.3 Selling Price and Rate of Exchange

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[Revise item b to read as follows:]

b. With the exceptions noted in 372.4d, international reply coupons purchased in foreign countries are exchangeable at U.S. Post Office facilities toward the purchase of postage stamps and embossed stamped envelopes (including aerogrammes) at the rate of $0.84 per coupon irrespective of the country where they were purchased.

372.4 Processing Requests

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[Revise item d to read as follows:]

d. As of January 1, 2007, the following international reply coupons issued by foreign countries are no longer redeemable at U.S. Post Offices: coupons issued before 2002, and coupons bearing an expiration date of December 31, 2006. The pre-2002 international reply coupons are approximately 2.5 inches by 4 inches and do not have a barcode on the back. The latest versions of the international reply coupons printed by the Universal Postal Union are approximately 3.75 inches by 6 inches, have a barcode on the back, and have an expiration date of December 31, 2009. Customers should return foreign-origin pre-2002 coupons and coupons with the December 31, 2006, expiration date to their correspondents in the country of issue for replacement or redemption through the issuing postal administration. This policy is only for international reply coupons issued by foreign postal administrations - U.S.-origin coupons are not affected.

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Publication 51, International Postal Rates and Fees

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Miscellaneous Services

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International Reply Coupons

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[Revise the second paragraph of this section to read as follows:]

As of January 1, 2007, the following IRCs issued by foreign countries are no longer redeemable at U.S. Post Offices: coupons issued before 2002, and coupons bearing an expiration date of December 31, 2006. Customers should return foreign-origin pre-2002 coupons and coupons with the December 31, 2006, expiration date to their correspondents in the country of issue for replacement or redemption through the issuing postal administration. This policy is only for IRCs issued by foreign postal administrations - U.S.-origin coupons are not affected.

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We will incorporate these revisions into the printed versions of IMM 34 and Publication 51 and also into the online versions of the IMM and Publication 51, which can be accessed via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 1-4-07

PUBLICATION 51 REVISION

Parcel Post Indemnity Coverage

Effective January 4, 2007, we are revising Publication 51, International Postal Rates and Fees, to reflect current policies for parcel post indemnity coverage.

Publication 51, International Postal Rates and Fees

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Special Services

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Indemnity Coverage

[Revise the paragraph by removing the first sentence and inserting text to read as follows:]

Indemnity coverage is now provided for ordinary, uninsured international airmail and economy mail parcel post. (Some exceptions apply, including for parcel post items mailed to the Marshall Islands and Micronesia - see IMM 281.)***

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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of Publication 51 and also into the next online update of Publication 51, which can be accessed via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 1-4-07

ICM UPDATES

International Customized Mail

The International Customized Mail (ICM) updates now appear on the Postal ServiceTM Internet Web site at www.usps.com.

To read the latest updates:

• Go to www.usps.com.

• Click All Products and Services, then International Customized Mail Updates.

(The direct URL is http://www.usps.com/publications/icm/welcome.htm.)

— Pricing Strategy,
Pricing and Classification, 1-4-07