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24 · Union Postale 1/2008
The interviewFair duesThe question is often asked: how are countriespaid for processing, transporting anddelivering inbound international mail andvice versa?ByRhéal LeBlancPhotos:DanielWietlisbachTo calculate the financial compensation due to countries,the UPU uses the terminal dues system. First establishedin 1969, this system continues to evolve from one UniversalPostal Congress to another. At the 2004 BucharestCongress, member countries adopted a system aimed atcovering their actual mail processing costs. Moreover, alink was established between the remuneration receivedand the quality of service provided.As not all countries are at the same stage of developmentand there are significant variations in their mail volumes,postal tariffs and cost absorption, the aim, by the end of2013, is to progressively incorporate the developing andleast developed countries into a target system that alreadyapplies to industrialized countries.Paul Epiney of Switzerland chairs the terminal dues projectgroup, tasked with further developing the system adoptedin Bucharest and submitting a proposal to the 2008 Congress.He explains the main changes characterizing thisproposal and the challenges faced in preparing it.Please briefly describe how the terminaldues system impacts uponcountries. Why is this one of themost important issues dealt with bythe UPU?In my opinion, this is one of theorganization’s most importantprojects, as it affects countries’budgets. Terminal dues is the remunerationpaid for the processingand delivery of international letterpost, which accounts for around70% of postage costs. For postaloperators, terminal dues representan essential source of revenue thatenables them to provide postalservices in their countries.How has your group managed towork on such an important issue,taking account of the interests of allparties?In basing our work on resolutionC46 / 2004, which is aimed at thecoverage of actual costs, we havethrown down the gauntlet. Whendealing with 191 countries, compromisesoften need to be reached.We have endeavoured to hear allpoints of view, holding numerousmeetings during Postal OperationsCouncil (POC) and Council ofAdministration (CA) sessions, aswell as two workshops in Berne andsteering committee meetings.Regional round tables, culminatingin a world round table, haveallowed us to fine-tune the proposal.On this basis, we have developeda proposal aligned as closelyas possible to the resolution. Whilewe have moved in the right direction,much remains to be done. Thiswork will continue after the 24thUPU Congress.What were the biggest challengesin preparing the Congress proposal?There were many. First, agreementhad to be reached on the mostimportant principles. We establishedeight of these, one of whichwas to put into place a systemwhereby revenues would be maintainedfor the same level of mailexchanges. This was of particularconcern to developing countries. Ittook more than two years to establishthese principles. On this basis,with the International Bureau’sassistance, we conducted in-depthstudies in areas such as markets,special services, tariffs and costs.1/2008 Union Postale · 25
Page 5: Editor’s noteA world without the
Page 8 and 9: The Post was one of the first secto
Page 11: The UPU and the International Telec
Page 14 and 15: traditional letter post is struggli
Page 16 and 17: Global number of letter-post items(
Page 18 and 19: Letter-writinglives onIs the person
Page 20 and 21: A letter is…Proof of authenticity
Page 22 and 23: The German, Austrian and NorwegianP
Page 26 and 27: However, the study on each country
Page 28 and 29: minal dues programme, includingdeve
Page 30 and 31: Market focusPost and telephoneservi
Page 32: The postal networkFacilitating affo

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