Guam lawmaker wants USPS to fix ‘unfair’ private fees on territory mail

By Jayvee Vallejera

Because of the new U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules, mailing a package to your brother in Boise through the U.S. Postal Service now requires you to pay a private company to precertify that the item you are sending is exempt from tariff payments or customs duties.

Sen. Jesse A. Lujan noted that the new policy, which he decried as unfair, applies only to mailers from U.S. territories.

Jesse Lujan

He is asking the USPS to reconsider the policy, which he said further burdens Guam residents, who already face significantly higher transportation and shipping costs because of the island's geographic isolation.

In a letter to Peter Pastre, USPS vice president of Government Relations and Public Policy, Lujan raised concerns over the Postal Service's use of Zonos, a private customs broker, to facilitate new CBP requirements for packages from Guam and other U.S. territories that are being mailed to any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico.

In its notice to customers, the USPS said individuals mailing goods from Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands must obtain a declaration ID and prepay any applicable duties before the USPS accepts the package.

The requirement applies even to certain shipments that are later declared duty-free.

Under the arrangement, Zonos will handle the prepayment of duties to ensure all required fees are paid before the parcels enter the United States.

Lujan is asking USPS to explain what fees Zonos is charging Guam customers, why a private broker fee is necessary for duty-exempt shipments and whether USPS can establish a no-cost alternative through USPS.com or directly at local USPS counters.

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Lujan is also asking whether USPS can absorb or waive third-party fees when no federal duty is owed.

Lujan, who chairs the Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities and Federal and Foreign Affairs, said his concern is not with legitimate federal customs requirements or the payment of tariffs when they are lawfully owed.

Rather, even when no tariff or duty is owed, Guam residents may still be required to use Zonnos and pay a processing or administrative fee simply to mail a package through USPS, he said.

“If a tariff is owed, then it should be paid. But if the tariff is zero, an American citizen should not have to pay a private company just to prove that fact to his or her own federal government,” Lujan said.

“The people of Guam are Americans and access to the United States Postal Service should not come with an additional private toll simply because we live in a territory," he added.

Lujan said the issue may warrant congressional action and require Guam and the CNMI "to speak with one voice.

Lujan said Guam families and businesses already pay a premium for products and services because the island is so far out of the way.

“Federal policy should be looking for ways to reduce the cost of living and doing business in the territories, not creating another administrative hurdle for Americans simply trying to mail a package,” he said.

Lujan urged USPS to promptly review the matter and coordinate with CBP to establish a fair, no-cost mechanism for territorial residents whose shipments are not subject to tariffs or duties.

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