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New US return to sender rules could be heartbreak for mail shippers

[ November 16, 2020   //   ]

Several hundred million mail parcels destined for the US will be rejected when new United States Postal Service (USPS) rules on advance electronic data comes into force on 1 January, says cross-border specialist Hurricane Commerce.

It says that any parcels arriving in the US with incorrect or incomplete data will be refused and returned to origin.

It will be the latest step in the enforcement of the US STOP Act which is primarily intended to crack down on the importation of illicit opioids into the country.

Hurricane chief executive Martyn Noble, said: “The USPS is under pressure to fully implement the STOP Act and the quality threshold for valid advance electronic data on mail parcels is being raised to a whole new level from the start of next year. As things stand that means several hundred million parcels are likely to be rejected and eventually returned to their origin.

“This kind of volume will not only create immense logistical challenges but will also have a serious impact on air cargo capacity.

“Refused parcels will be returned to their country of origin which, in turn, will lead to mail parcel blockages of tens of millions of items. This problem will be exacerbated by the huge reduction in the number of planes flying due to Covid-19.”

Hurricane Commerce has launched its Zephyr data enhancement product which allows bulk clearance facilities to check the accuracy of data including product descriptions and HS6 codes, and receive additional pertinent or missing information through a quick check function.

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