Thailand will pay a 12.5% tariff on exports to the United States from today, July 24, after the Trump administration unveiled a fresh round of duties targeting 60 trading partners over forced labour.
The new tariffs range from 10% to 12.5% and take effect at 12.01am US Eastern time, or 11.01am in Thailand. They replace a temporary 10% global tariff that expired at the same moment. Thailand sits in the hardest-hit group of 38 countries, alongside China and Vietnam.
The move is US President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to revive his sweeping tariff agenda. The US Supreme Court struck down his so-called reciprocal tariffs in February, ruling that emergency powers legislation did not give him the authority to impose them. Thailand had earlier negotiated its reciprocal rate down to 19% before the court threw the whole scheme out.
Hours after that ruling, Trump ordered a stopgap 10% tariff on most imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That measure came with a 150-day limit, which ran out today.
Forced labour as the legal weapon
The new duties rest on Section 301 of the same 1974 law, which lets the president impose tariffs after an investigation into unfair trade practices. This time, the US Trade Representative’s office accused all 60 economies of failing to ban imports of goods made with forced labour.
“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
Section 301 has survived repeated court challenges over the years. Legal experts say the new tariffs therefore face lower legal risk than the version the Supreme Court killed off in February.
The duties cover 99.4% of US imports. Exemptions apply to oil, gas, fertiliser and some food products. Goods already in transit escape the new rates until 12.01am US Eastern time on July 28.
Who pays what
Countries that adopted at least some forced labour restrictions face the lower 10% rate. That group includes Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The European Union, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland face effective rates of 10% to 12.5% once existing duties are factored in.
The remaining 38 countries, including Thailand and China, cop the full 12.5% for failing to adopt any forced labour import ban. Washington accuses Beijing of detaining Uyghur minorities in labour camps, a charge China denies.
Greer has promised that countries with existing trade deals will not see the new tariffs push their rates above previously agreed ceilings. Thailand spent much of last year negotiating with Washington after Trump first threatened the kingdom with a 36% levy.
Backlash at hbome and abroad
Australia, Norway, Brazil and Canada all protested the announcement. Norway called the tariffs unjustified, pointing to its own laws designed to block trade in goods produced with forced labour.
Criticism also came from inside the US. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey warned the tariffs would raise costs, hurt businesses and weaken American competitiveness. “No one can afford this,” she said.
For Thailand, the timing stings. The US is the kingdom’s largest export market, and exporters were already bracing for a rough 2026 after last year’s tariff turbulence. Electronics, computers and telephone equipment dominate Thai shipments to America, and a volatile baht has added another layer of pressure on manufacturers.
The Thai government has yet to respond to the new rate. Follow the latest developments on The Thaiger’s business news and economy pages.
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