‘Postal bundling’ attacked

Date: 04/07/02

By Peter Chapman

EXPRESS delivery firms say the way Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy's team has bundled their sector's interests together with traditional postal services could scupper their chances of seeing foreign market barriers scrapped in a new round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks.

Mark van der Horst, EU affairs manager for US giant United Parcel Service, says express delivery services, such as those operated by his company, should be considered separately in talks aimed at widening the so-called 'General Agreement on Trade in Services'.

Without the change, he said, the European Commission, which will negotiate on behalf of the EU, could face an uphill struggle persuading countries to make commitments to open markets.

That is because the postal industry - usually monopolised by governments - is one of the most politically sensitive sectors.

Van der Horst added that bundling express deliveries with post could actually lead to new trade restrictions if countries seek to protect traditional postal markets from competition.

Barriers the express sector wants to see scrapped include investment restrictions imposed by regulators in Pakistan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia and preferential customs treatment for postal operators in Japan and Malaysia.

A team of industry executives, also representing companies including DHL and FedEx, urged Commission officials last week to rewrite the draft negotiating mandate presented to the Geneva-based WTO.

'We haven't quantified the effect this could have on jobs and profits,' van der Horst said.

'But - although we operate in a number of countries across the world already - things could be made easier and more efficient.'

Express delivery firms say the way Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy's team has bundled their sector's interests together with traditional postal services could scupper their chances of seeing foreign market barriers scrapped in a new round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks.