The U.S. Postal Service is seeking to increase the prices of its products this summer, including the cost of a first-class stamp, which could increase from 73 cents to 78 cents if approved.
On Wednesday, U.S.P.S. recommended a 7 percent price hike for mailing service products to the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent agency that must approve the proposal.
“As changes in the mailing and shipping marketplace continue, these price adjustments are needed to achieve the financial stability sought by the organization’s Delivering for America 10-year plan,” USPS said in its proposal.
“USPS prices remain among the most affordable in the world.”
If approved, 1-ounce letters would go from 73 cents to 78 cents, domestic postcards would increase from 56 cents to 62 cents and international postcards and 1-ounce letters would rise from $1.65 to $1.70.
Those changes would take effect on July 13.
The Postal Service contends, as it did last year when it enacted a similar increase, that it's needed to achieve financial stability.
Last year, the postal service conducted the largest increase ever when it changed rates by a nickel. A forever stamp went from 68 cents to 73 cents in July 2024.
Former U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy previously warned postal customers to get used to “uncomfortable” rate hikes as the Postal Service seeks to become self-sufficient. He said price increases were overdue after “at least 10 years of a defective pricing model.”
DeJoy resigned in March after nearly five years in the position, leaving just as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency floated the idea of privatizing mail service.
Federal workers have warned against privatizing the mail service, saying not only would they lose their federal benefits but that it could mean the end of guaranteed mail service to every American regardless of where they live.
Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino has taken on the role of postmaster general until the Postal Service Board of Governors names a permanent replacement for DeJoy.
Trump said he considered putting USPS under the control of the Commerce Department in an effort to stop losses at the $78 billion-a-year agency, which has struggled at times to balance the books with the decline of first-class mail.
However, the White House denied that the move was occurring.
Additional reporting by AP.
