THE American administration has announced that it will withdraw from a treaty established in 1874 that subsidises international postage into Western countries. A 2014 study estimates the cost of these subsidies at $2.1 billion a year.
The subsidies allow for packages to be sent from developing countries to Scotland at a greatly reduced cost with the Royal Mail passing on the cost to its other users. China, one of the nations classed as developing, can send a five-gram package to the UK for $0.005. The cheapest it could be sent within the UK is 58p, which is 152 times the cost. Goods sent from overseas less than £15 in value are exempt from VAT, an exception that is not given to our local retailers.
These subsidies distort the market and damage our local businesses. It may appear a cheaper purchase but the true price is paid via increased domestic postage prices and funds raised by taxation.
I hope that we can follow the example of our American cousins and stop this unfair practice.
Tom Walker,
39 Fountain Place, Loanhead.
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