Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Opinion: Lessons From America’s September Trade Win Over China
Inside-Sources
By InsideSources.com
Published 5 years ago on
October 5, 2019

Share

On Sept. 25, the U.S. scored a significant trade win over China while strengthening our relations with many other industrialized countries and even the United Nations. The valuable lessons learned and successful negotiating practices augur optimism, even enthusiasm, that our broader trade discussions with China will succeed.


Paul Steidler
InsideSources.com
Opinion
At issue was renegotiation of a global postal accord at the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a 192-country organization affiliated with the United Nations. The Trump administration began a concerted campaign in August 2018 to end its bizarre system by which small packages sent from China to the United States cost half as much as sending identical packages a short distance within the United States.
Starting in July 2020, the U.S. Postal Service will be able to cover its costs, effectively charging China the same for its services that it does U.S. customers. This will eliminate a $300 milllion to $500 million annual financial loss for the Postal Service.
More important, it will be the catalyst for increased sales of U.S.-made goods. Manufacturers, retailers and e-commerce companies will have billions in increased annual revenues that will also result in more jobs and higher tax revenues.

Seven Important Lessons

There are seven important lessons to learn from America’s UPU victory.

—Be blunt. The United States was very clear to the UPU and others that the current system was no longer tolerable. This included numerous op-eds and candid media interviews with Peter Navarro, assistant to President Trump and director of trade and manufacturing policy.
—Be fair. The United States had an eminently clear and reasonable goal: get China and a handful of other countries that benefit from the current system to pay their fair share for the services they use from the U.S. Postal Service.
—Set deadlines. Before last month’s deal at the UPU, the United States was prepared to pull out of the organization on October 17. We had provided the required year’s advance notice to the UPU.
—Work with allies. The United States brought together dozens of countries that were also dissatisfied with the UPU system and similarly affected by the previous system. These countries are now able to raise their rates to China, though less dramatically than the United States can.
—Accept compromise. The ideal solution for the United States would have been the adoption of a proposal by which it and other countries could explicitly declare their own rates to other countries, a move supported by 57 other nations. While the agreed-upon calculation method for increasing costs to China is more complicated, it gets the job done, at least for the next few years. The United States and other countries should continue to push for the ideal solution in the years ahead.
—Have contingency plans. The United States was poised to leave the UPU on October 17, had an agreement not been struck. We had been negotiating numerous bilateral agreements, particularly with the dozens of countries that shared our postal views and where agreements were highly likely to be executed and seamlessly implemented.
—Bring the A-Team to discussions. The U.S. success at the UPU is due in good part to the presence of Navarro at its Extraordinary Congress, September 24-26. Through rigorous and exhausting discussions, an agreement was struck that even China could support, and which passed the UPU by overwhelming acclamation.
By taking these lessons to heart and building upon them, the United States can obtain a fairer trade agreement with China, which will be mutually beneficial to both countries. Strong, clear and persistent negotiations are the essentials.
About the Writer 
Paul Steidler is a senior fellow with the Lexington Institute, a public policy think tank in Arlington, Va. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

DON'T MISS

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

DON'T MISS

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

DON'T MISS

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

DON'T MISS

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

UP NEXT

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Begins Trump’s Second Term with a Drift Higher

UP NEXT

Even This Year Is the Best Time Ever to Be Alive

UP NEXT

Bitcoin Soars Past $109,000 Ahead of Possible Early Action on Crypto by Trump

UP NEXT

Americans Say It’s Harder to ‘Make It’ Financially Than Ever Before

UP NEXT

Is Capitalism Falling Out of Favor? We Analyzed 400,000 News Stories to Find Out

UP NEXT

Voices for Justice: Diverse Figures Unite in Support of Palestine

UP NEXT

IMF Sees Steady Global Growth, but Warns That Trump Tariff, Tax and Deportation Plans Cloud Outlook

UP NEXT

Ozempic, Wegovy Among 15 Drugs Selected for Medicare Price Negotiations

UP NEXT

California Housing Crisis Will Get Worse as LA Fires Destroy Homes

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

2 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

2 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

2 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

3 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

3 hours ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

3 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

5 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

5 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

6 hours ago

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

6 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was ...

1 hour ago

Ichiro Suzuki in Yankee Pinstripes
1 hour ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
2 hours ago

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

The five turbines of Block Island Wind Farm operate, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour organized by Orsted. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

Photo of Mexican Oxy, fentanyl laced blue pills
2 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
2 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
2 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
3 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

3 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend