USPS Suspends Priority Mail Express International Guarantees to More Countries

Starting on March 23rd, USPS has suspended Priority Mail Express International guarantees to more foreign countries. At first, the Postal Service had just suspended delivery guarantees to China and Hong Kong, the previous “epicenters” of the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, as the Coronavirus pandemic spreads to more European countries, those countries’ postal operators are beginning to shut down, as well. As a result, USPS is unable to provide the same delivery timeframes, and has suspended their delivery service guarantees.

The Countries USPS Has Suspended PME International Guarantees To (Updated on 3/26/2020):

• China
• France
• Great Britain
• Hong Kong
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

When Will USPS Lift These Suspensions?

Unfortunately, these suspensions will remain in effect until further notice, or until the Coronavirus pandemic alleviates. Obviously, there’s no way to know when that will be. Therefore, it’s difficult to determine when USPS will lift these suspended Priority Mail Express International guarantees.

USPS put these suspensions in place in response to widespread airline cancellations and travel restrictions. Foreign countries are shutting down left and right to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and as a result, air travel in and out of these countries is stalled. USPS relies on commercial flights to transport Priority Mail Express International packages to their destination countries. Without these flights occurring on a regular basis, there is simply no vessel for USPS to place these international parcels on. The Postal Service then has to rely on other, less direct means of transporting these packages, and as a result, nearly every single parcel will arrive later than the normal guaranteed delivery timeframes.

Curious to see how other countries’ postal systems are responding to the Coronavirus pandemic? Check out our running list of all countries experiencing mail and parcel service disruptions due to COVID-19.