Whangārei grandmother Carol Ashton was “shocked” and “disappointed” by the decision.
She said she was worried about how her two US-based grandchildren would get their Christmas gifts this year.
She said she usually had the presents packed and sent before the end of October.
“Christmas and birthdays are special times to think of them and sometimes it’s easier to give them money - and that’s okay - but sometimes you’ll see something that they would really love and you want to be able to post it,” Ashton said.
New Zealand-based romance author Colette Rhodes said the US was where she sold the majority of her titles.
She had stockpiled books for the US market – in anticipation of the tariffs – but she also sold and shipped an array of personalised accessories to complement her E-books and printed novels.
“For readers this is like the personal touch. They want a hand-signed sticker that they stick into the front of their books and I don’t really feel comfortable charging a huge amount of money for that.
“For the time being I think it’s just a full-stop until we get a clear idea of what the system’s going to be and what the cost impact is going to be going forward,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes says she felt for her American readers who would be unable to access products readily available to other parts of the world.
“It seems very strange – in this super connected era that we live in – to just not be able to send a package to somebody – in the United States of all places,” Rhodes said.
Wellington business owner Pepper Racoon told Morning Report her parcels started being returned from US customs – with no reason given – about two weeks ago.
She said she understood that when shipping resumed it would be up to businesses to employ a certified brokerage company to collect the tariffs – at a substantial cost.
“One of the companies I looked at that’s certified to collect these tariffs – to integrate with Shopify, which is what I use – is $4000 US ($6800) a year. I simply can’t afford that on top of all my other operating expenses,” Racoon said.
Racoon said she was trying to come to grips with shutting down shipping to nearly one fifth of her customers.
“I’ve been in business for eight years and I’ve taken a lot of knocks with Covid and then the cost of living crisis. Breaking into the US market – and having consistent access to at least 20 percent of my income coming from there – has been really helpful. I’m not really sure where to go from here,” she said.
In a statement, NZ Post said other postal operators “around the globe” were also suspending sending parcels into the US.
“Guidance from US Customs & Border Protection was only recently issued and requires a number of changes for both businesses and NZ Post - including updates to shipment data, duty and tax payments, and how goods are processed for entry into the US.
“We’ve been advised by our main airline partners that - due to these new rules - they have made the decision they will not be carrying mail items subject to this tariff,” a spokesperson said.
NZ Post was unable to confirm when postal services to the US would resume in full.
- RNZ
