[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 183 (Thursday, September 20, 2018)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 47791-47794]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20667]
[[Page 47789]]
Vol. 83
Thursday,
No. 183
September 20, 2018
Part IV
The President
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Memorandum of August 23, 2018--Modernizing the Monetary Reimbursement
Model for the Delivery of Goods Through the International Postal System
and Enhancing the Security and Safety of International Mail
Memorandum of August 31, 2018--Delegation of Authorities Under the
Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 183 / Thursday, September 20, 2018 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 47791]]
Memorandum of August 23, 2018
Modernizing the Monetary Reimbursement Model for
the Delivery of Goods Through the International Postal
System and Enhancing the Security and Safety of
International Mail
Memorandum for the Secretary of State[,] the Secretary
of the Treasury[,] the Secretary of Homeland
Security[,] the Postmaster General[, and] the Chairman
of the Postal Regulatory Commission
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Definitions. (a) ``Good'' means any tangible
and movable object that can be conveyed by the
international postal system, excluding (i) written,
drawn, printed, or digital information recorded on a
tangible medium that is not an object of merchandise
and (ii) money.
(b) ``Non-postal operator'' means a private express
carrier, freight forwarder, or other provider of
services for the collection, transportation, and
delivery of international documents and packages, other
than a postal operator.
(c) ``Postal operator'' means a governmental or
non-governmental entity officially designated by a
Universal Postal Union (UPU) member country to operate
postal services and to fulfill the related obligations
arising out of the Acts of the UPU on its territory.
(d) ``Terminal dues'' means the rates or fees
determined through the UPU and paid by the postal
operator in the country of origin to the postal
operator in the country of destination to compensate
for costs incurred in the country of destination for
processing, transportation, and delivery of
international ``letter post'' items, which may include
documents or goods and generally weigh up to 4.4
pounds.
Sec. 2. Policy. (a) The UPU was established in 1874 by
21 countries. The United States played an integral role
in the UPU's creation and, since that time, the United
States has actively participated in all phases of the
UPU's work. The United States is a party to the current
Constitution of the UPU--which was adopted in 1964--and
intends to continue to participate fully in and
financially contribute to the UPU, as provided in
Article 21 of the UPU Constitution. As a member country
of the UPU, the United States recognizes the importance
of this long-standing organization and is proud of the
United States' unbroken record of participation in it.
The Congress has provided that the Secretary of
State (Secretary), in concluding postal treaties,
conventions, or other international agreements, shall,
to the maximum extent practicable, take measures to
encourage governments of other countries to make
available to the United States Postal Service (USPS)
and private companies a range of nondiscriminatory
customs procedures that will fully meet the needs of
all types of American shippers (39 U.S.C. 407(e)(3)).
The Congress has likewise directed that responsible
officials shall apply the customs laws of the United
States and all other laws relating to importation or
exportation of goods in the same manner to shipments of
goods that are competitive products of the USPS and to
similar shipments by private companies (39 U.S.C.
407(e)(2)).
[[Page 47792]]
It is the policy of the United States to promote
and encourage the development of an efficient and
competitive global system that provides for fair and
nondiscriminatory postal rates.
(b) It is in the interest of the United States to:
(i) promote and encourage communications between peoples by efficient
operation of international postal services and other international delivery
services for cultural, social, and economic purposes (39 U.S.C. 407(a)(1));
(ii) promote and encourage unrestricted and undistorted competition in the
provision of international postal services and other international delivery
services, except where provision of such services by private companies may
be prohibited by the laws of the United States (39 U.S.C. 407(a)(2));
(iii) promote and encourage a clear distinction between governmental and
operational responsibilities with respect to the provision of international
postal services and other international delivery services by the Government
of the United States and by intergovernmental organizations of which the
United States is a member (39 U.S.C. 407(a)(3)); and
(iv) participate in multilateral and bilateral agreements with other
countries to accomplish these objectives (39 U.S.C. 407(a)(4)).
(c) Some current international postal practices in
the UPU do not align with United States economic and
national security interests:
(i) UPU terminal dues, in many cases, are less than comparable domestic
postage rates. As a result:
(A) the United States, along with other member countries of the UPU, is
in many cases not fully reimbursed by the foreign postal operator for the
cost of delivering foreign-origin letter post items, which can result in
substantial preferences for foreign mailers relative to domestic mailers;
(B) the current terminal dues rates undermine the goal of unrestricted
and undistorted competition in cross-border delivery services because they
disadvantage non-postal operators seeking to offer competing collection and
outward transportation services for goods covered by terminal dues in
foreign markets; and
(C) the current system of terminal dues distorts the flow of small
packages around the world by incentivizing the shipping of goods from
foreign countries that benefit from artificially low reimbursement rates.
(ii) The UPU has not done enough to reorient international mail to achieve
a clear distinction between documents and goods. Without such a
distinction, it is difficult to achieve essential pricing reforms or to
ensure that customs requirements, including provision of electronic customs
data for goods, are met. Under the current system, foreign postal operators
do not uniformly furnish advance electronic customs data that are needed to
enhance targeting and risk management for national security and to
facilitate importation and customs clearance. My Administration's
Initiative to Stop Opioids Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand,
launched in March of this year, requires accurate advance electronic
customs data for 90 percent of all international mail shipments that
contain goods and consignment shipments within 3 years, so that the
Department of Homeland Security can better detect and flag high-risk
shipments.
(d) It shall be the policy of the executive branch
to support efforts that further the policies in this
memorandum, including supporting a system of
unrestricted and undistorted competition between United
States and foreign merchants. Such efforts include:
(i) ensuring that rates charged for delivery of foreign-origin mail
containing goods do not favor foreign mailers over domestic mailers;
(ii) setting rates charged for delivery of foreign- origin mail in a manner
that does not favor postal operators over non-postal operators; and
(iii) ensuring the collection of advance electronic customs data.
[[Page 47793]]
Sec. 3. Relations with the UPU. (a) The United States
must seek reforms to the UPU that promote the policies
outlined in this memorandum. Such reforms shall provide
for:
(i) a system of fair and nondiscriminatory rates for goods that promotes
unrestricted and undistorted competition; and
(ii) terminal dues rates that:
(A) fully reimburse the USPS for costs to the same extent as domestic
rates for comparable services;
(B) avoid a preference for inbound foreign small packages containing
goods that favors foreign mailers over domestic mailers; and
(C) avoid a preference for inbound foreign small packages containing
goods that favors postal operators over private-sector entities providing
transportation services.
(b) If negotiations at the UPU's September 2018
Second Extraordinary Congress in Ethiopia fail to yield
reforms that satisfy the criteria set forth in
subsection (a) of this section, the United States will
consider taking any appropriate actions to ensure that
rates for the delivery of inbound foreign packages
satisfy those criteria, consistent with applicable law.
Sec. 4. Actions by the Secretary. (a) The Secretary
shall notify the Director General of the UPU of the
policies and intentions of the United States described
in this memorandum.
(b) The Secretary or his designee shall, consistent
with 39 U.S.C. 407(b)(1), seek agreement on future
Convention texts that comport with the policies of this
memorandum in meetings of the UPU, including at the
September 2018 Extraordinary Congress.
(c) No later than November 1, 2018, the Secretary
shall submit to the President a report summarizing the
steps being taken to implement this memorandum. If the
Secretary determines that sufficient progress on
reforms to promote compatibility of the Acts of the UPU
with the policy of this memorandum is not being
achieved, the Secretary shall include recommendations
for future action, including the possibility of
adopting self-declared rates.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
with applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
[[Page 47794]]
(d) The Secretary is authorized and directed to
publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, August 23, 2018
[FR Doc. 2018-20667
Filed 9-19-18; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4710-10-P