Having problems of tracking inbound registered shipments from China, Hong Kong, Singapore or other countries? You are not alone. On Oct 1 2015, USPS made an announcement saying it will no longer offer scanning and tracking services for some international Registered Mail destined for the United States. BAD Bad news for international sellers shipping to USA.

Tracking no longer working for inbound registered mails for some countries

Try tracking at USPS site for some inbound registered mail (e.g. RR123456789CN), it will show messages like following.

Ghost Logos

The Postal Service could not locate the tracking information for your request. Please verify your tracking number and try again later.

USPS provides tracking for following countries:

  • ALBANIA
  • ARGENTINA
  • ARUBA
  • BARBADOS
  • BELARUS
  • BELGIUM
  • BENIN
  • BERMUDA
  • BURKINA FASO
  • CANADA
  • CAYMAN ISLANDS
  • COLOMBIA
  • COMOROS
  • CROATIA
  • CYPRUS
  • CZECH REPUBLIC
  • DENMARK
  • EL SALVADOR
  • ERITREA
  • ETHIOPIA
  • FINLAND
  • FRANCE
  • GERMANY
  • GIBRALTAR
  • GREAT BRITAIN
  • GUYANA
  • ICELAND
  • IRELAND
  • JAPAN
  • KIRIBATI
  • LEBANON
  • LIBERIA
  • LUXEMBOURG
  • MALDIVES
  • MALTA
  • MAURITANIA
  • MEXICO
  • MOZAMBIQUE
  • NETHERLANDS
  • NIGER
  • NIGERIA
  • PAKISTAN
  • PANAMA (REP)
  • PAPUA NEW GUINEA
  • PHILIPPINES
  • RWANDA
  • SAUDI ARABIA
  • SIERRA LEONE
  • SLOVENIA
  • SWEDEN
  • SWITZERLAND
  • TANZANIA (UNITED REP)
  • THAILAND
  • TOGO
  • TONGA
  • TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
  • UGANDA
  • UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
  • VANUATU
  • ZAMBIA

Banned countries includes:

  • CHINA
  • HONG KONG
  • SINGAPORE
  • TURKEY
  • RUSSIA
  • INDIA (suggested by users)

eCommerceBytes may have an explanation why...

The move comes amid growing concern over an imbalance in shipping fees that puts US merchants at a competitive disadvantage against foreign retailers.

USPS's explanation

Each country’s ability to perform barcode scanning and to provide those scans electronically to the Postal Service is unique to that country. Many countries are unable to provide this service or prefer not to provide it.