The new tariff, which took effect today (July 24), places Thailand alongside countries including China and Vietnam in the higher of two new tariff bands introduced by Washington.
According to the US Trade Representative’s office, countries subject to the higher 12.5% rate failed to meet US standards on preventing goods produced with forced labour from entering supply chains.
Countries with equivalent import bans face a lower 10% tariff. (See full White House announcement here.)
The measures mark the latest chapter in the Trump administration’s evolving trade policy after the US Supreme Court earlier this year struck down the administration’s previous “reciprocal tariff” regime, forcing the White House to adopt a new legal mechanism for imposing import duties.
For Thailand, the move represents a 2.5 percentage point increase from the temporary 10% tariff that had been applied globally over the past five months. However, it remains lower than the 19% reciprocal tariff previously imposed before that system was overturned by the courts.
The new duties apply to virtually all Thai exports entering the United States.
The United States remains Thailand’s largest export market, with bilateral trade having expanded rapidly in recent years.
According to US figures, the American trade deficit with Thailand widened from US$45.6 billion in 2024 to a record US$71.9bn in 2025 as imports from Thailand surged, particularly in electronics and manufactured goods.
Further, Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce has also reported a growing trade surplus with the United States, with exports continuing to outpace imports during the first half of this year to the tune of at US$51.4bn (about B1.68 trillion).
Despite previous negotiations aimed at reducing trade tensions, Thailand is still charging its standard statutory rates, which average 9.8% ‒ and skyrocket up to 30%-80% on products such as US autos and agricultural goods.
Earlier proposals under a reciprocal trade framework would have seen Thailand dramatically reduce tariffs on thousands of US products.
In negotiations last year Thailand agreed to eliminate tariffs on an espoused 99% of US products entering Thailand, slashing duties on over 10,000 US products.
The offer was presented as a sweeping concession Thailand promised to implement in exchange for the US locking in its tariff at 19% instead of 36% ‒ the pre-tariff war rate.
But that agreement was never implemented after the US Supreme Court invalidated the legal basis for Washington’s previous tariff programme.
Goods already in transit to the United States will receive a brief grace period before the new tariff takes full effect, according to reports.
The latest measures are expected to increase costs for Thai exporters while adding further uncertainty to global trade as businesses adjust to another round of changes in US import policy.