The third Extraordinary Congress of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) was held from 24 to 26 September 2019, in Geneva (Switzerland).
It should be recalled that the potential leaving of the United States of America (USA) from the UPU depended on the outcome of this Congress.
Following intense the negotiations of the months preceding the Congress, aimed at finding a compromise deal that could gather major support and keep the USA in the UPU, a proposal was endorsed by acclamation - named “V” for victory - to review the remuneration system for “E format objects” (especially small parcels arising from e-commerce).
The decision foresees an acceleration of the increases of the remuneration rate for “E format objects” and the gradual introduction of self-declared rates from 2021 for most countries, opening an exception for countries with a certain (very high) volume of mail, which can choose to self-declare the rates starting on 1 July 2020. In practice, only the USA meets the conditions to benefit from this exception.
This decision also includes measures to protect developing countries with low postal traffic volumes from the impact of the changes that have been made.
The Portuguese delegation was headed by the Chair of ANACOM, João Cadete de Matos, and by the Ambassador Rui Macieira, representative of the Permanent Mission of Portugal at the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva. It also included other representatives of ANACOM, CTT – Correios de Portugal and the aforesaid Permanent Mission.
From left to right: Sandro Mendonça (Member of the Board of Directors of ANACOM) and João Cadete de Matos (Chair of the Board of Directors of ANACOM) at the 3rd UPU Extraordinary Congress.
Representatives of the delegations of Portuguese speaking countries represented at the 3rd UPU Extraordinary Congress.
