A BLURRING OF LINES

The following is a perspective by postal commentator Gene Del Polito for Direct magazine. The views expressed are solely the author's.

It's been interesting to participate in the debate over the transformation of the American postal system, while having the luxury to merely observe what's going on in other nations around the world, and, most particularly, in Europe. Unlike the U.S., the European Union has been much more unwilling to continue to endow its States' postal services with the power of a monopoly. In fact, if the EU keeps to its declared objective, there no longer will be a post in Europe with any vestige of a monopoly by 2009. In addition, there are facets of the "postal" debate in Europe that signal the blurring of lines that traditionally have distinguished posts from their private sectore courier competitors.

For instance, in the EU, the pressure coming from Brussels is to make sure that posts and couriers are treated the same when it comes to the application of value added taxes (VATs). On the continent, the services of both posts and couriers are subject to VAT. In the U.K., the call already has gone forth from the British postal regulator to subject posts and couriers to equal VAT treatment. Only in this instance, the regulator would seek to exempt both from a VAT.

The blurring of the distinction between posts and couriers is likely to continue. In fact, the rules governing the customs treatment of courier and post cross-border shipments is a topic of considerable discussion not only at the U.N.'s Universal Postal Union but also at the International Trade Commission here in the U.S. Indeed, it's almost impossible to attend a "policy" meeting that touches on some element of international postal services that is not also attended by those who represent much broader trade issues.

Even though a Commission on the Postal Service already has issued its recommendations on what the American postal system should look like in the years ahead, it's still too early to tell whether the broader post versus courier issues have been taken completely out of play. While nation-states are known to defend vigorously their claims to sovereignty, including the sovereignty signified by their national posts, it is becoming much more common to find that nations are willing to bargain away some elements of the sovereign claims when a greater national interest (read "trade" and profits) are at stake.

The current discussion over postal reform could take on quite a different character if issues ordinarily relegated to an international arena find their way into what has seemed to be predominately a domestic debate.