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39 U.S.C. § 407 — International postal arrangements
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** It is the policy of the United States—
(1) to promote and encourage communications between peoples by efficient operation of international postal services and other international delivery services for cultural, social, and economic purposes;
(2) to promote and encourage unrestricted and undistorted competition in the provision of international postal services and other international delivery services, except where provision of such services by private companies may be prohibited by law of the United States;
(3) to promote and encourage a clear distinction between governmental and operational responsibilities with respect to the provision of international postal services and other international delivery services by the Government of the United States and by intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member; and
(4) to participate in multilateral and bilateral agreements with other countries to accomplish these objectives.
**(b)**
(1) The Secretary of State shall be responsible for formulation, coordination, and oversight of foreign policy related to international postal services and other international delivery services and shall have the power to conclude postal treaties, conventions, and amendments related to international postal services and other international delivery services, except that the Secretary may not conclude any treaty, convention, or other international agreement (including those regulating international postal services) if such treaty, convention, or agreement would, with respect to any competitive product, grant an undue or unreasonable preference to the Postal Service, a private provider of international postal or delivery services, or any other person.
(2) In carrying out the responsibilities specified in paragrap
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 39 U.S.C. § 407
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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_6e1e0d628ff6878345795a44
Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-39/section-407-international-postal-arrangements--66bc2347c6.md
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Source location: Title 39, Chapter 4, § 407; chapter-004-general-authority.md
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**(a)** It is the policy of the United States—
(1) to promote and encourage communications between peoples by efficient operation of international postal services and other international delivery services for cultural, social, and economic purposes;
(2) to promote and encourage unrestricted and undistorted competition in the provision of international postal services and other international delivery services, except where provision of such services by private companies may be prohibited by law of the United States;
(3) to promote and encourage a clear distinction between governmental and operational responsibilities with respect to the provision of international postal services and other international delivery services by the Government of the United States and by intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member; and
(4) to participate in multilateral and bilateral agreements with other countries to accomplish these objectives.
**(b)**
(1) The Secretary of State shall be responsible for formulation, coordination, and oversight of foreign policy related to international postal services and other international delivery services and shall have the power to conclude postal treaties, conventions, and amendments related to international postal services and other international delivery services, except that the Secretary may not conclude any treaty, convention, or other international agreement (including those regulating international postal services) if such treaty, convention, or agreement would, with respect to any competitive product, grant an undue or unreasonable preference to the Postal Service, a private provider of international postal or delivery services, or any other person.
(2) In carrying out the responsibilities specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall exercise primary authority for the conduct of foreign policy with respect to international postal services and international delivery services, including the determination of United States positions and the conduct of United States participation in negotiations with foreign governments and international bodies. In exercising this authority, the Secretary—
(A) shall coordinate with other agencies as appropriate, and in particular, shall give full consideration to the authority vested by law or Executive order in the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Transportation, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative in this area;
(B) shall maintain continuing liaison with other executive branch agencies concerned with postal and delivery services;
(C) shall maintain continuing liaison with the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives;
(D) shall maintain appropriate liaison with both representatives of the Postal Service and representatives of users and private providers of international postal services and other international delivery services to keep informed of their interests and problems, and to provide such assistance as may be needed to ensure that matters of concern are promptly considered by the Department of State or (if applicable, and to the extent practicable) other executive branch agencies; and
(E) shall assist in arranging meetings of such public sector advisory groups as may be established to advise the Department of State and other executive branch agencies in connection with international postal services and international delivery services.
(3) The Secretary of State shall establish an advisory committee (within the meaning of chapter 10 of title 5) to perform such functions as the Secretary considers appropriate in connection with carrying out subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (2).
**(c)**
(1) Before concluding any treaty, convention, or amendment that establishes a rate or classification for a product subject to subchapter I of chapter 36, the Secretary of State shall request the Postal Regulatory Commission to submit its views on whether such rate or classification is consistent with the standards and criteria established by the Commission under section 3622.
(2) The Secretary shall ensure that each treaty, convention, or amendment concluded under subsection (b) is consistent with the views submitted by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (1), except if, or to the extent, the Secretary determines, in writing, that it is not in the foreign policy or national security interest of the United States to ensure consistency with the Commission’s views. Such written determination shall be provided to the Commission together with a full explanation of the reasons thereof, provided that the Secretary may designate which portions of the determination or explanation shall be kept confidential for reasons of foreign policy or national security.
**(d)** Nothing in this section shall be considered to prevent the Postal Service from entering into such commercial or operational contracts related to providing international postal services and other international delivery services as it deems appropriate, except that—
(1) any such contract made with an agency of a foreign government (whether under authority of this subsection or otherwise) shall be solely contractual in nature and may not purport to be international law; and
(2) a copy of each such contract between the Postal Service and an agency of a foreign government shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State and the Postal Regulatory Commission not later than the effective date of such contract.
**(e)**
(1) In this subsection, the term “private company” means a private company substantially owned or controlled by persons who are citizens of the United States.
(2) With respect to shipments of international mail that are competitive products within the meaning of section 3631 that are exported or imported by the Postal Service, the Customs Service and other appropriate Federal agencies shall apply the customs laws of the United States and all other laws relating to the importation or exportation of such shipments in the same manner to both shipments by the Postal Service and similar shipments by private companies.
(3) In exercising the authority under subsection (b) to conclude new postal treaties and conventions related to international postal services and to renegotiate such treaties and conventions, the Secretary of State shall, to the maximum extent practicable, take such measures as are within the Secretary’s control to encourage the governments of other countries to make available to the Postal Service and private companies a range of nondiscriminatory customs procedures that will fully meet the needs of all types of American shippers. The Secretary of State shall consult with the United States Trade Representative and the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in carrying out this paragraph.
(4) The provisions of this subsection shall take effect 6 months after the date of enactment of this subsection or such earlier date as the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security may determine in writing.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In General.—** The Postal Regulatory Commission shall, within 18 months after the date of enactment of this section, promulgate (and may from time to time thereafter revise) regulations to—
(1) prohibit the subsidization of competitive products by market-dominant products;
(2) ensure that each competitive product covers its costs attributable; and
(3) ensure that all competitive products collectively cover what the Commission determines to be an appropriate share of the institutional costs of the Postal Service.
**(b) Review of Minimum Contribution.—** Five years after the date of enactment of this section, and every 5 years thereafter, the Postal Regulatory Commission shall conduct a review to determine whether the institutional costs contribution requirement under subsection (a)(3) should be retained in its current form, modified, or eliminated. In making its determination, the Commission shall consider all relevant circumstances, including the prevailing competitive conditions in the market, and the degree to which any costs are uniquely or disproportionately associated with any competitive products.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 39 U.S.C. § 3633
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Authority Generally.—** The Postal Regulatory Commission shall, within 18 months after the date of enactment of this section, by regulation establish (and may from time to time thereafter by regulation revise) a modern system for regulating rates and classes for market-dominant products.
**(b) Objectives.—** Such system shall be designed to achieve the following objectives, each of which shall be applied in conjunction with the others:
(1) To maximize incentives to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
(2) To create predictability and stability in rates.
(3) To maintain high quality service standards established under section 3691.
(4) To allow the Postal Service pricing flexibility.
(5) To assure adequate revenues, including retained earnings, to maintain financial stability.
(6) To reduce the administrative burden and increase the transparency of the ratemaking process.
(7) To enhance mail security and deter terrorism.
(8) To establish and maintain a just and reasonable schedule for rates and classifications, however the objective under this paragraph shall not be construed to prohibit the Postal Service from making changes of unequal magnitude within, between, or among classes of mail.
(9) To allocate the total institutional costs of the Postal Service appropriately between market-dominant and competitive products.
**(c) Factors.—** In establishing or revising such system, the Postal Regulatory Commission shall take into account—
(1) the value of the mail service actually provided each class or type of mail service to both the sender and the recipient, including but not limited to the collection, mode of transportation, and priority of delivery;
(2) the requirement that each class of mail or type of mail service bear the direct and indirect postal
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 39 U.S.C. § 3622
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) In general** The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, shall designate the laboratory described in subsection (b) as an additional laboratory pursuant to the authority under [section 188(c)(2) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title6-section188/c/2&num=0&edition=prelim). Such laboratory shall be used to test and evaluate emerging technologies and conduct research and development to assist emergency response providers in preparing for, and protecting against, threats of terrorism.
**(b) Laboratory described** The laboratory described in this subsection is the laboratory—
(1) known, as of December 27, 2021, as the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory; and
(2) transferred to the Department pursuant to [section 183(1)(E) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title6-section183/1/E&num=0&edition=prelim).
**(c) Laboratory activities** The National Urban Security Technology Laboratory shall—
(1) conduct tests, evaluations, and assessments of current and emerging technologies, including, as appropriate, the cybersecurity of such technologies that can connect to the internet, for emergency response providers;
(2) act as a technical advisor to emergency response providers; and
(3) carry out other such activities as the Secretary determines appropriate.
**(d) Rule of construction** Nothing in this section may be construed as affecting in any manner the authorities or responsibilities of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office of the Department.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 6 U.S.C. § 211
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people.
**(b)** The Postal Service shall maintain an integrated network for the delivery of market-dominant and competitive products (as defined in chapter 36 of this title). Delivery shall occur at least six days a week, except during weeks that include a Federal holiday, in emergency situations, such as natural disasters, or in geographic areas where the Postal Service has established a policy of delivering mail fewer than six days a week as of the date of enactment of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022. The Postal Service shall provide a maximum degree of effective and regular postal services to rural areas, communities, and small towns where post offices are not self-sustaining. No small post office shall be closed solely for operating at a deficit, it being the specific intent of the Congress that effective postal services be insured to residents of both urban and rural communities.
**(c)** As an employer, the Postal Service shall achieve and maintain compensation for its officers and employees comparable to the rates and types of compensation pa
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 39 U.S.C. § 101
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 19
TITLE 39—POSTAL SERVICE
§ 407
(b) The Secretaries of Defense and Transpor-
tation shall make arrangements with the Postal
Service to perform postal services through per-
sonnel designated by them at or through branch
post offices established under subsection (a) of
this section.
(c)(1) The Secretary of Defense shall authorize
the use of a post office established under sub-
section (a) in a location outside the United
States by citizens of the United States—
(A) who—
(i) are employed by the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization; and
(ii) perform functions in support of the
Armed Forces of the United States; and
(B) if the Secretary makes a written deter-
mination that such use is—
(i) in the best interests of the Department
of Defense; and
(ii) otherwise authorized by applicable
host nation law or agreement.
(2) No funds may be obligated or expended to
establish, maintain, or expand a post office es-
tablished under subsection (a) for the purpose of
use described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 724; Pub. L.
116–92, div. A, title X, § 1056, Dec. 20, 2019, 133
Stat. 1593; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVIII,
§ 1806(a), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 688.)
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
2023—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 118–31 substituted ‘‘shall
authorize the use’’ for ‘‘may authorize the use’’ in in-
troductory provisions.
2019—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–92 added subsec. (c).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section effective July 1, 1971, pursuant to Resolution
No. 71–9 of the Board of Governors. See section 15(a) of
Pub. L. 91–375, set out as a note preceding section 101
of this title.
§ 407. International postal arrangements
(a) It is the policy of the United States—
(1) to promote an
Source: Supplied 2024 U.S. Code historical extraction · 39 U.S.C. § 407
Stored review status: historical_2024_not_currentness_verified. Same stored citation; legal effect and authority still require review.