Effective April 26, 2015, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to update certain country names in parts 142, 213, 292, and 371, as well as in the Index of Countries and Localities, Country Price Groups and Weight Limits, and the Individual Country Listings.
Over the course of time, country names have changed due to a variety of political or cultural reasons. In collaboration with International Postal Affairs and the State Department, we are removing or updating country names as applicable. Several changes from “St. Christopher and Nevis” to “St. Kitts and Nevis,” as well as one change from “Tokelau (Union Group) (Western Samoa)” to “Tokelau (New Zealand)” first appeared in the article titled “IMM Revision: Country Listings Name Changes” in Postal Bulletin 22386 (4-3-14, pages 10–12), but we then postponed those changes in the article titled “IMM Revision: Postponement of Changes to Two Country Names” in Postal Bulletin 22387 (4-17-14, page 14) until all systems could be programmed to implement these changes.
We will publish these changes in the April IMM because, by April 2015, the systems will be programmed to implement these changes, as well as changes from “Western Samoa” to “Samoa.”
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Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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1 International Mail Services
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140 International Mail Categories
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142 Official Mail
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142.4 General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS)
The following standards apply when mail is sent as OAS General Secretariat official mail:
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b. The following countries are members of the Organization of American States (OAS):
[Revise the entry for “Saint Christopher and Nevis” to read as follows:]
Saint Kitts and Nevis
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2 Conditions for Mailing
210 Global Express Guaranteed
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213 Prices and Postage Payment Methods
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213.5 Destinating Countries and Price Groups
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Exhibit 213.5 Destinating Countries and Price Groups
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[Remove the entries for “Saint Christopher and Nevis” and “Western Samoa” and add entries in alphabetical order for “Saint Kitts and Nevis” and “Samoa” to read as follows:]
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290 Commercial Services
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292 International Priority Airmail (IPA) Service
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292.4 Mail Preparation
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292.45 IPA Foreign Office of Exchange Codes and Price Groups
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Exhibit 292.45a IPA Foreign Office of Exchange Codes and Price Groups
[Remove the entries for “Saint Christopher and Nevis” and “Western Samoa” and add entries in alphabetical order for ”Saint Kitts and Nevis” and “Samoa” to read as follows:]
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3 Extra Services
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370 International Money Transfer Services
371 International Money Orders
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371.2 Availability
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Exhibit 371.2 Countries Accepting the International Postal Money Order Form (MP1)
[Revise the entry for “Saint Christopher and Nevis” to read as follows:]
Saint Kitts and Nevis
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Index of Countries and Localities
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[Revise the entry for “Atafu (Western Samoa)” to read as follows:]
Atafu (Samoa)
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[Revise the entry for “Fakaofo (Western Samoa)” to read as follows:]
Fakaofo (Samoa)
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[Revise the entry for “Nevis (Saint Christopher and Nevis)” to read as follows:]
Nevis (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
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[Revise the entry for “Nukunonu (Western Samoa)” to read as follows:]
Nukunonu (Samoa)
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[Delete the entry for “Saint Christopher and Nevis” in its entirety.]
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[Revise the entry for “Saint Kitts (Saint Christopher and Nevis)” to read as follows:]
Saint Kitts and Nevis
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[Add an entry to read as follows:]
Samoa
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[Revise the entry for “Savaii Island (Western Samoa)” to read as follows:]
Savaii Island (Samoa)
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[Revise the entry for “Tokelau (Western Samoa)” to read as follows:]
Tokelau (New Zealand)
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[Revise the entry for “Upolu Island (Western Samoa)” to read as follows:]
Upolu Island (Samoa)
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[Delete the entry for “Western Samoa” in its entirety]
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Country Price Groups and Weight Limits
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[Remove the entries for “Saint Christopher and Nevis” and “Western Samoa” and add entries for “Saint Kitts and Nevis” and “Samoa” in alphabetical order to read as follows:]
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Individual Country Listings
[Revise the ICL for Saint Christopher and Nevis by changing the country name to read as follows (and putting the ICL in alphabetical order following Saint Helena):]
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Country Conditions for Mailing
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Priority Mail Express International (220)
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Customs Forms Required (123)
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Notes
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[Revise Notes 3 and 4 to read as follows (changing the term “Saint Christopher and Nevis” to “Saint Kitts and Nevis”):]
3. All items admissible in international mail to Saint Kitts and Nevis, including correspondence, business papers, and merchandise, are accepted in Priority Mail Express International. See Prohibitions and Restrictions.
4. Coins; banknotes; currency notes, including paper money; securities of any kind payable to bearer; traveler’s checks; platinum, gold, and silver; precious stones; jewelry; watches; and other valuable articles are prohibited in Priority Mail Express International shipments to Saint Kitts and Nevis. All items prohibited in regular international mail are also prohibited in Priority Mail Express International shipments to Saint Kitts and Nevis.
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[Revise the ICL for Western Samoa by changing the country name to read as follows (and putting the ICL in alphabetical order following Saint Vincent and the Grenadines):]
Samoa
Country Conditions for Mailing
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Priority Mail Express International (220)
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Customs Forms Required (123)
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Notes
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[Revise Note 2 to read as follows (changing the term “Western Samoa” to “Samoa”):]
2. Coins; banknotes; currency notes, including paper money; securities of any kind payable to bearer; traveler’s checks; platinum, gold, and silver; precious stones; jewelry; watches; and other valuable articles are prohibited in Priority Mail Express International Shipments to Samoa.
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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
