PLEASE NOTE REGARDING SHIPPING TO THE USA:
The cost of sending mail to the US is to set to rise dramatically from July 1, as the combination of COVID-19 international flight restrictions and changes in US policies on postal rates for incoming mail combine to create a worrying precedent for international mail.
Royal Mail in the UK is one of a number of international mail providers affected by the circumstances, with the price of sending International standard parcels to the US increasing by 49% on average, and the price of International signed and tracked parcels sent to the US increasing by an average of 38%.
This comes from a change in US policy towards incoming mail from outside of the USA, which will contribute a long term cost increase in sending mail to America. Royal Mail explain that "The increase in the rates we pay for last mile delivery in the US are a result of decisions taken at the UN's Universal Postal Union (UPU). This met the US administration's stated objective – to increase how much they charge other countries for delivery. We expect other countries to follow suit. We are likely to see price increases to elsewhere in the world in due course."
The complex relationship between the US and the UPU was first raised in 2018, when the Trump Administration announced plans to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union, citing unfair trading conditions which they alleged favoured China. The US opted against withdrawl from the UPU when a deal was struck to allow the US Postal Service to set its own postal rates, which, according to Royal Mail, will see "A significant increase of more than 100% in the rates we pay for last mile delivery in the US from 1st July".
