for the foreseeable future i will pay the 15% tariff for our US customers on the seals i make here in New Zealand as the only NZ Post service offered at the present time to the US is a delivered duty paid (DDP) service and its just not worth messing around with a recharging mechanism for what are relatively low value goods, particularly when i do not see the current arrangements as being permanent.
the new zealand government tried removing the NZD400 de minimus rule in new zealand a few years ago and unsurprisingly they had to walk back from it as the cost of collection greatly exceeded the additional revenue raised, something any high school economics student could have told them. the de minimus limit was then reintroduced in 2019 and set at NZD1000. removal of the de minimus limit is simply a political response to lobbying by large retailers
at no point has there been any change or disruption to courier services.