That's interesting. Before about January of 2019, I was able to ship for about those rates to the U.S. Recently, I took an envelope to the German post office

That's interesting. Before about January of 2019, I was able to ship for about those rates to the U.S. Recently, I took an envelope to the German post office and was informed that the Global Postal Union has barred shipping of goods in envelopes at postal instead of package prices. I pay €16,- minimum whether in an envelope or a box but can send up to 2 kg of goodies.