It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we hadPhiladelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." ~ BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1787
Denmark’s state-run postal service will no longer deliver letters
This undated handout photo shows a PostNord van on the road in Denmark. (PostNord via AP)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — No more mail for Denmark: PostNord will stop delivering letters to the Nordic nation at the end of 2025, though package distribution will remain.
PostNord, a state-run agency that services Denmark and Sweden, announced the change Thursday. Roughly 1,500 mailboxes throughout Denmark will be taken down in the second half of the year, and Danes can seek refunds for stamps. An estimated 1,500 of PostNord’s 4,600 employees will be laid off this year.
Sweden’s letter delivery will not be affected, the agency said.
PostNord said the number of letters in Denmark has decreased by 90% since 2000, and by more than 30% in 2024 compared with the year before. The agency blamed an increasingly digital atmosphere in Denmark and worldwide, and 2024 Danish legislation that drove the cost of postage up.
“We have been the Danes’ postal service for 400 years and therefore it is a difficult decision to put a bow on that part of our story,” PostNord Denmark chief executive Kim Pedersen said in a news release. “The Danes have become more and more digital which means that there are very few letters left for us to handle today, and the downturn continues so clearly that the market for letters is no longer profitable.”
Pedersen said the heart of PostNord’s business is parcel delivery, which it will focus on in 2026.
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Pelle Dragsted, a member of the Danish parliament, wrote on social platform X that the cessation of letter delivery will unfairly affect Danes who live in remote areas.
Letters can still be sent through private companies, Danish public broadcaster DR reported. The state will ensure that infrastructure remains for mail to be delivered to Denmark’s remote areas, including smaller island communities.
Pedersen also told DR that people can send their letters as packages through PostNord’s parcel shops.
The UPU, a specialized UN agency, coordinates postal policies among its 192 member states, including China, to facilitate a uniform global postal system. One key aspect of the UPU is the "terminal dues" system, which determines how much the sending country’s postal service pays the receiving country’s postal service for delivering international mail. Historically, this system has been tiered to favor developing countries by charging them lower rates, a policy rooted in promoting global postal equity.
China, classified as a developing country under UPU rules despite its economic growth, has benefited from subsidized terminal dues rates. This means that Chinese merchants, particularly in e-commerce, could ship small packages (under 4.4 pounds) to countries like the United States at rates lower than domestic shipping costs within the destination country. For example, in the past, it could cost less to ship a small parcel from China to the U.S. than from one U.S. city to another, leading to perceptions that China was using the postal system "free" or at an unfair advantage. However, this isn’t truly "free"—China Post still pays terminal dues, just at a discounted rate set by the UPU.
Changes to the System
This arrangement drew criticism, particularly from the U.S., which argued it disadvantaged American businesses and cost the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) hundreds of millions annually. In 2018, the Trump administration threatened to withdraw from the UPU unless reforms were made. At the UPU Extraordinary Congress in 2019, a compromise was reached, allowing countries like the U.S. to "self-declare" rates for incoming international mail starting in July 2020. This increased shipping costs for Chinese merchants sending packages to the U.S., reducing the perception of a "free" or heavily subsidized system. As of 2025, these reforms remain in effect, meaning China no longer enjoys the same level of cost advantage it once did.
Current Status (March 7, 2025)
Today, China does not use the UPU postal system "free." It pays terminal dues like all member states, though the rates it pays to developed countries have increased due to UPU reforms. Additionally, recent U.S. policy changes under President Trump, including a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and the closure of the "de minimis" exemption (allowing duty-free entry for packages under $800) as of February 2025, further ensure that Chinese shipments face additional costs, not free access.
Conclusion
Neither the UNPA nor the UPU allows China to use the postal system entirely free of charge. The UNPA is irrelevant to China’s general postal operations, while the UPU historically provided China with subsidized rates—not free postage—until reforms adjusted this imbalance. As of now, China’s ability to leverage the international postal system at a significant discount has been curtailed, aligning costs more closely with those borne by other nations.
