The Postal Service will be required to drop prices onApril 10 if no congressional or court action is taken to extend a 4.3 percent surcharge for mailing products and services.

The price to mail a letter would drop from 49 to 47 cents.Additional letter postage will be reduced from 22 cents will be 21 cents.International letters would drop from $1.20 to $1.15 and postcards will drop a penny to 34 cents.Commercial prices would also decrease.An order from the Postal Regulatory Commission requires the 4.3 percent exigent surcharge to be reversed after the Postal Service has collected surcharges totaling $4.6 billion.That amount is expected to be reached by April 10.The postal service says this mandatory action would worsen its financial condition by reducing revenue and increasing its net losses by approximately $2 billion per year.Postmaster General and CEO Megan J. Brennan said, "Removing the surcharge and reducing our prices is an irrational outcome considering the Postal Service's precarious financial condition."A surcharge granted last year only partially alleviated revenue decreases for the Postal Service, which exceeded $7 billion in 2009 alone, Brennan said.Postal Service prices for mailing services are capped by law at the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers.Under the Postal Service's current pricing system, products that generate roughly 76 percent of its revenues fall under the statutory price cap.Brennan said first-class mail volume continues to decline and the network costs required to provide universal service continue to rise.Brennan said, "Our current pricing regime is unworkable and should be replaced with a system that provides greater pricing flexibility and better reflects the economic challenges facing the Postal Service."To see the new prices, effective April 10, go to

www.usps.com.