IMM Revision: Changes to Pricing and Mailing Standards for International Shipping Services

Effective April 26, 2015, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM^®) to reflect changes to the prices and standards for the international shipping services noted below, pending Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) review:

n Global Express Guaranteed^® (GXG^®).

n Priority Mail Express International™.

n Priority Mail International^®.

n First-Class Package International Service^®.

n International Priority Airmail^® (IPA^®).

n International Surface Air Lift^® (ISAL^®).

n Direct Sacks of Printed Matter to One Addressee (Airmail M-bags).

n International Extra Services:

n Certificate of Mailing.

n Registered Mail™ service.

n Return Receipt service.

New prices will be located on the Postal Explorer^® website at http://pe.usps.com.

Global Express Guaranteed

Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) service is the Postal Service’s premier international expedited product provided through an alliance with FedEx Express^®. The price increase for GXG service averages 7.2 percent.

The Postal Service continues to provide Commercial Base pricing to online customers who prepare and pay for GXG shipments via USPS^®-approved payment methods, with variable discounts up to 16 percent off the published retail prices for GXG.

The Postal Service also continues to offer Commercial Plus pricing that includes discount price incentives to large-volume customers who commit to tendering at least $100,000 in annual postal revenue from GXG, Priority Mail Express International service, Priority Mail International service, and First-Class Package International Service via USPS-approved payment methods, with variable discounts up to 24 percent off the published retail prices for GXG.

Priority Mail Express International

Priority Mail Express International (PMEI) service provides fast service to approximately 180 countries. A money-back guarantee service (exceptions apply) is available for certain destinations. The price increase for PMEI service averages 6.7 percent. The Commercial Base price and Commercial Plus price for customers that prepare and pay for PMEI shipments via permit imprint, online at http://usps.com^®, or as registered end-users using an authorized PC Postage^® vendor will remain a variable discount (based on the item’s weight and price group) of up to 13 percent below the retail price for Commercial Base price and up to 25 percent below the retail price for Commercial Plus price.

The Postal Service continues to offer Commercial Plus pricing that includes discount price incentives to large-volume customers who commit to tendering at least $100,000 in annual postal revenue from GXG, PMEI, Priority Mail International, and First-Class Package International Service. The Postal Service will continue to include PMEI in customized Global Expedited Package Services (GEPS) contracts offered to customers who meet certain revenue thresholds and are willing to commit to a larger amount of postal revenue for PMEI and Priority Mail International services.

Priority Mail International

Priority Mail International (PMI) service is a way to send merchandise and documents to about 180 countries. The price increase for PMI service averages 6.8 percent. The Commercial Base price and Commercial Plus price for customers that prepare and pay for PMI items via permit imprint, online at http://usps.com, or as registered end-users using an authorized PC Postage vendor will remain a variable discount (based on the item’s weight and price group) of up to 13 percent below the retail price for Commercial Base price and up to 21 percent below the retail price for Commercial Plus price. Large-volume mailers who commit to tendering at least $100,000 in annual postal revenue from GXG, PMEI, PMI, and First-Class Package International Service may request authorization for Commercial Plus discount prices. The Postal Service will continue to include PMI in customized GEPS contracts offered to customers who meet certain revenue thresholds and are willing to commit to a larger amount of revenue to the Postal Service for PMEI and PMI.

We are proposing a structural change to create price zones for PMI service to Canada. New zoned prices, based on the origin ZIP Code™ for PMI destined to Canada, will encourage customers to better use our network and allow us to compete more effectively in major metropolitan markets from which U.S. businesses export and where the Postal Service operates international gateways (International Service Centers).

An additional classification change is an increase from 44 pounds to 66 pounds for the maximum weight for PMI Country Price Group 17 (Netherlands).

First-Class Package International Service

First-Class Package International Service (FCPIS) is an economical international service for small packages weighing less than 4 pounds and not exceeding $400 in value. The pricing structure for FCPIS will continue to be simpler than for some other international products, with one retail price worldwide for 1 to 2 ounces, identical prices for 3 to 4 ounces within each country price group, and identical prices for 5 to 8 ounces within each country price group. The price increase for FCPIS averages 7.2 percent. The Commercial Base price and Commercial Plus price for customers that prepare and pay for FCPIS items via permit imprint or by USPS-approved online payment methods will remain a variable discount (based on the item’s weight and price group) of up to 10 percent below the retail price for Commercial Base price and up to 16 percent below the retail price for Commercial Plus price. Large volume mailers who commit to tendering at least $100,000 in annual postal revenue from GXG, PMEI, PMI, and FCPIS may request authorization for Commercial Plus discount prices.

International Priority Airmail and International Surface Air Lift

Published prices for the commercial international Shipping Services, which include International Priority Airmail (IPA) and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL), will have an overall price increase of 4.5 percent. The structure of IPA and ISAL price categories will continue to be priced by the worldwide and 19 country price groups and applicable mail shapes (letters and postcards, large envelopes [flats], and packages [small packets and rolls]). These categories correspond to the Universal Postal Convention requirements to use shape-based pricing. For IPA and ISAL, the Postal Service offers incentive pricing through International Negotiated Service Agreements (NSAs).

International Priority Airmail (IPA) service, including IPA M-bags, is a bulk commercial service that provides rapid and economical worldwide delivery to business mailers for volume mailings of First-Class Mail International^® postcards, letters, large envelopes (flats), and FCPIS packages (small packets) weighing up to a maximum 4.4 pounds. IPA is dispatched to the destination country, where it is entered into the postal administration’s air or surface priority mail system for delivery. The overall price increase for IPA service averages 4.5 percent.

International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) service, including ISAL M-Bags, is a bulk commercial service that provides economical worldwide delivery to business mailers of volume mailings of all First-Class Mail International postcards, letters, large envelopes (flats), and FCPIS packages (small packets) weighing up to 4.4 pounds. ISAL is dispatched to the destination country, where it is then entered into the postal administration’s surface nonpriority network. The overall price increase for ISAL service averages 4.5 percent.

Direct Sacks of Printed Matter to One Addressee (Airmail M-bags)

Airmail M-bags are direct sacks of printed matter sent to a single foreign addressee at a single address. Prices are based on the weight of the sack. The price increase for Airmail M-bags averages 6.8 percent.

International Extra Services

Depending on country destination and mail type, customers may add a variety of extra services to their outbound shipments. Prices for some of these extra services are increasing. Also, as a housekeeping measure, we will remove provisions concerning inbound international return receipt and inbound international insurance from the Mail Classification Schedule, as these are products offered by foreign postal administrations to their countries’ mailers, not USPS mail products.

For our competitive offerings, noted below are the price increases for the following international extra services:

n Certificate of Mailing: The price for Certificate of Mailing service will increase 2.5 percent.

n Registered Mail: The price for Registered Mail service will increase 2.2 percent.

n Return Receipt: The price for Return Receipt service will increase 2.7 percent.

Also, the insurance tables for Priority Mail Express International and Priority Mail International services will be combined into one table to simplify pricing.

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

* * * * * 

2 Conditions for Mailing

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220 Priority Mail Express International

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222 Eligibility

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222.8 Extra Services — Merchandise Insurance

[Revise the second sentence to read as follows:]

***See Exhibit 322.2 for individual country merchandise insurance limits.***

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230 Priority Mail International

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232 Eligibility

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232.3 Priority Mail International Medium and Large Flat Rate Boxes

[Revise the next-to-last sentence (about insurance) to read as follows:]

***Medium and Large Flat Rate Boxes may be insured — see Exhibit 322.2 for insurance availability and limitations.***

* * * * * 

3 Extra Services

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320 Insurance

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322 Priority Mail Express International Insurance

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322.2 Availability

[Revise 322.2 in its entirety to read as follows (including the new Exhibit 322.2):]

Insurance availability varies by country, content, and value. See Exhibit 322.2 for availability and insurance limits.

Exhibit 322.2 Priority Mail Express International and Priority Mail International Merchandise Insurance Limits

 

Country	PMEI	PMI
Afghanistan	N/A	N/A
Albania	5000	N/A
Algeria	5000	N/A
Andorra	5000	5000
Angola	5000	N/A
Anguilla	5000	415
Antigua and Barbuda	N/A	60
Argentina	5000	5000
Armenia	5000	875
Aruba	5000	830
Ascension	N/A	N/A
Australia	5000	3644
Austria	5000	5000
Azerbaijan	5000	2915
Bahamas	5000	1458
Bahrain	5000	N/A
Bangladesh	5000	5000
Barbados	5000	238
Belarus	5000	1312
Belgium	650	650
Belize	5000	1600
Benin	5000	N/A
Bermuda	5000	440
Bhutan	5000	22
Bolivia	5000	N/A
Bosnia-Herzegovina	5000	5000
Botswana	5000	73
Brazil	5000	2915
British Virgin Islands	N/A	500
Brunei Darussalam	5000	n/a
Bulgaria	5000	1115
Burkina Faso	5000	969
Burma (Myanmar)	N/A	N/A
Burundi	5000	5000
Cambodia	5000	N/A
Cameroon	5000	N/A
Canada	5000	675
Cape Verde	5000	N/A
Cayman Islands	5000	N/A
Central African Republic	5000	N/A
Chad	5000	185
Chile	5000	N/A
China	5000	1222
Colombia	5000	999
Comoros	N/A	690
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	5000	N/A
Congo, Republic of the	5000	1685
Costa Rica	5000	N/A
Cote d’Ivoire	5000	5000
Croatia	5000	5000
Cuba	N/A	N/A
Curacao (includes Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius)	5000	5000
Cyprus	5000	5000
Czech Republic	5000	5000
Denmark	650	650
Djibouti	5000	880
Dominica	5000	N/A
Dominican Republic	5000	N/A
Ecuador	5000	N/A
Egypt	5000	1685
El Salvador	5000	N/A
Equatorial Guinea	N/A	N/A
Eritrea	5000	N/A
Estonia	5000	2187
Ethiopia	5000	N/A
Falkland Islands	N/A	N/A
Faroe Islands	5000	5000
Fiji	5000	N/A
Finland	650	650
France	650	650
French Guiana	5000	5000
French Polynesia	5000	4519
Gabon	5000	523
Gambia	N/A	N/A
Georgia, Republic of	5000	1458
Germany	500	500
Ghana	5000	N/A
Gibraltar	N/A	N/A
Great Britain and Northern Ireland	650	N/A
Greece	650	650
Greenland	N/A	5000
Grenada	5000	350
Guadeloupe	5000	5000
Guatemala	N/A	N/A
Guinea	5000	948
Guinea–Bissau	5000	2915
Guyana	5000	10
Haiti	5000	N/A
Honduras	N/A	N/A
Hong Kong	5000	5000
Hungary	5000	5000
Iceland	650	650
India	5000	2189
Indonesia	5000	N/A
Iran	N/A	N/A
Iraq	5000	N/A
Ireland	650	650
Israel	5000	N/A
Italy	650	650
Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire)	5000	5000
Jamaica	5000	N/A
Japan	5000	5000
Jordan	N/A	N/A
Kazakhstan	5000	5000
Kenya	5000	131
Kiribati	N/A	N/A
Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of (North Korea)	N/A	N/A
Korea, Republic of (South Korea)	5000	5000
Kosovo, Republic of	N/A	N/A
Kuwait	5000	2000
Kyrgyzstan	5000	5000
Laos	5000	N/A
Latvia	5000	1458
Lebanon	5000	N/A
Lesotho	5000	440
Liberia	5000	440
Libya	N/A	N/A
Liechtenstein	5000	5000
Lithuania	5000	5000
Luxembourg	650	650
Macao	5000	4227
Macedonia, Republic of	5000	2380
Madagascar	5000	199
Malawi	N/A	N/A
Malaysia	5000	1429
Maldives	5000	N/A
Mali	5000	N/A
Malta	5000	N/A
Martinique	5000	5000
Mauritania	5000	635
Mauritius	5000	165
Mexico	5000	N/A
Moldova	5000	2915
Mongolia	5000	N/A
Montenegro	N/A	5000
Montserrat	N/A	2200
Morocco	5000	5000
Mozambique	5000	N/A
Namibia	5000	4405
Nauru	5000	220
Nepal	5000	N/A
Netherlands	650	650
New Caledonia	5000	1775
New Zealand	5000	1025
Nicaragua	5000	N/A
Niger	5000	N/A
Nigeria	5000	N/A
Norway	650	650
Oman	5000	575
Pakistan	5000	867
Panama	5000	N/A
Papua New Guinea	5000	445
Paraguay	5000	N/A
Peru	5000	N/A
Philippines	5000	N/A
Pitcairn Island	N/A	N/A
Poland	5000	5000
Portugal	650	650
Qatar	5000	N/A
Reunion	N/A	5000
Romania	5000	5000
Russia	5000	5000
Rwanda	5000	N/A
Saint Christopher and Nevis	5000	242
Saint Helena	N/A	170
Saint Lucia	5000	N/A
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	N/A	5000
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	5000	130
San Marino	5000	5000
Sao Tome and Principe	N/A	440
Saudi Arabia	5000	N/A
Senegal	5000	936
Serbia, Republic of	5000	5000
Seychelles	5000	N/A
Sierra Leone	5000	N/A
Singapore	5000	3000
Sint Maarten	5000	5000
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)	650	650
Slovenia	650	650
Solomon Islands	5000	N/A
Somalia	N/A	N/A
South Africa	5000	N/A
Spain	650	650
Sri Lanka	5000	35
Sudan	N/A	N/A
Suriname	N/A	535
Swaziland	5000	560
Sweden	650	650
Switzerland	650	650
Syrian Arab Republic (Syria)	5000	N/A
Taiwan	5000	1350
Tajikistan	5000	5000
Tanzania	5000	248
Thailand	5000	1458
Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of	N/A	N/A
Togo	5000	N/A
Tonga	5000	515
Trinidad and Tobago	5000	N/A
Tristan da Cunha	N/A	N/A
Tunisia	5000	3834
Turkey	5000	952
Turkmenistan	5000	729
Turks and Caicos Islands	650	N/A
Tuvalu	N/A	675
Uganda	5000	N/A
Ukraine	5000	5000
United Arab Emirates	5000	5000
United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland)	650	N/A
Uruguay	5000	N/A
Uzbekistan	5000	5000
Vanuatu	N/A	N/A
Vatican City	5000	2380
Venezuela	N/A	N/A
Vietnam	5000	N/A
Wallis and Futuna Islands	N/A	1615
Western Samoa	N/A	295
Yemen	5000	820
Zambia	5000	N/A
Zimbabwe	5000	N/A

322.3 Additional Coverage and Fees

[Revise 322.3 to read as follows:]

Additional merchandise insurance coverage above $200 — up to the maximum amount allowed by the country (see Exhibit 322.2) but never to exceed $5,000 — may be purchased at the sender’s option. The insurance fee is in addition to postage and other applicable fees. See Notice 123, Price List, for the fee schedule for optional Priority Mail Express International merchandise insurance coverage.

* * * * * 

323 Priority Mail International Insurance

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323.2 Availability

[Replace second sentence to read as follows:]

*** See Exhibit 322.2.***

323.3 Coverage and Fees

[Revise 323.3 in its entirety to read as follow (revising the first sentence and deleting the current second sentence):]

Merchandise insurance coverage — up to the maximum amount allowed by the country (see Exhibit 322.2) but never to exceed $5,000 — may be purchased at the sender’s option. The insurance fee is in addition to postage and other applicable fees and is based on the insured value. See Notice 123, Price List, for the fee schedule for optional Priority Mail International parcel insurance coverage.

* * * * * 

Country Price Groups and Weight Limits

* * * * * 

[Revise the entry for Netherlands to read as follows (revising the weight for Priority Mail International to 66 pounds):]

 

Country	Global Express Guaranteed		Priority Mail Express International		Priority Mail International1		First-Class Mail International and First-Class Package International Service
	Price Group	Max. Wt. (lbs.)	Price Group	Max. Wt. (lbs.)	Price Group	Max. Wt. (lbs.)	Price Group	Max. Wt.2 (ozs. / lbs.)
* * * * *
Netherlands	3	70	17	66	17	66	5	3.5 / 4
* * * * *

* * * * * 

Individual Country Listings

* * * * * 

Country Conditions for Mailing

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Priority Mail Express International (220)

* * * * * 

Insurance (222.8)

Available for Priority Mail Express International merchandise shipments only

[For each country that offers Priority Mail Express International merchandise insurance, replace the fee table with the following:]

See Exhibit 322.2 for individual country merchandise insurance limits. See Notice 123, Price List, for the fee schedule for Priority Mail Express International merchandise insurance coverage.

* * * * * 

Priority Mail International (230)

* * * * * 

Insurance (222.8)

Available for Priority Mail International merchandise shipments only (see 323.72 for markings)

[For each country that offers Priority Mail International merchandise insurance, replace the fee table with the following:]

See Exhibit 322.2 for individual country merchandise insurance limits. See Notice 123, Price List, for the fee schedule for Priority Mail International merchandise insurance coverage.

* * * * * 

We will incorporate these revisions into the April 26, 2015 update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer^® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Product Classification,
Pricing, 2-5-15