FALL 2024 – INTERNATIONAL MAIL SERVICE DISRUPTIONS & SUSPENSIONS

Mailbag Wednesday!

As per the official USPS™ September 2024 Press Release, “The Postal Service™ is temporarily suspending international mail acceptance for certain destinations due to impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other unrelated service disruptions. Customers: please refrain from mailing items addressed to the countries listed here, until further notice.”   

Here is your list of counties where the USPS™ is not sending or receiving several types of international mail -OR- experiencing significant service disruptions.  The United States tends to work cooperatively with the Universal Postal Union regarding ensuring proper delivery logistics, but in some cases, the U.S.’s stance may be more pronounced than what other counties do (e.g., in the case of mail to Russia).  Although the official reason for most service issues is said to be COVID-19, it’s no accident that many (but not all) of these regions have internal and external military conflicts or operations.  Also, several of these counties are not on the United States “Friends of” list either. 

COUNTRY       EFFECTIVE SERVICE     DISRUPTION DETAILS       SUSPENSION DATE (AS OF OCTOBER 2024) 

Afghanistan                  08-20-21                         Suspended: all classes of mail due to said COVID-related issues 

Belarus                          07-22-22                         Suspended: all classes of mail due to said COVID-related issues 

Bhutan                          08-30-24                         Suspended: all classes of mail due to lack of in-country transportation 

Israel                             10-10-23                          Service delays due to “limited transportation” in-country 

Lebanon                       10-04-24                          Suspended: all classes of mail due to lack of in-country transportation 

Niue*                             07-28-23                          Suspended: only Priority Mail Express International services 

Russia                           03-11-22                           Suspended: all classes of mail due to issues regarding transportation, service cancellations, and in-country restrictions. 

Sudan                            03-08-24                         Suspended: all classes of mail due to internal in-country conflicts 

Syria                             06-11-21                             Suspended: all classes of mail due to said COVID-related issues 

Ukraine                        03-02-22                          Suspended: all classes of mail due to internal in-country conflicts (per Ukraine Post request) 

Yemen                            04-17-20                         Suspended: all classes of mail due to said COVID-related issues 

Web Reference:  https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/international/ 

Image credits:  Universal Postal Union (ref: https://www.upu.int/en/home) 

* Note:  Niue is a small, self-governing island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, which is overseen by New Zealand 

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