Industry Outlook: What Is Changing for Shipping From Thailand

The changes at a glance

July 2026: the EU ends the 150 euro duty exemption

Since 1 July 2026 a parcel worth 150 euros or less entering the EU pays a flat customs duty of 3 euros per item. Before that date it paid VAT and no duty. The flat fee runs until 1 July 2028, then the normal tariff rate applies to those parcels too.

"The €3 temporary customs duty is a flat fee, which will apply until 1 July 2028, after which normal customs duties will apply."

Source: Guidance and legal text on temporary flat fee on low-value imports, European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union, 8 June 2026, under Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382.

What it means from Thailand: a 40 euro parcel of clothes to Berlin now carries 3 euros of duty that did not exist in June. On a duty inclusive shipment the 3 euros sit inside the price paid in Bangkok. Prices by weight and market are in the guide on shipping cost from Thailand with tax included.

July 2026: the UK confirms the end of the 135 pound relief

On 13 July 2026 the UK government published its decision to remove the 135 pound relief on low value imports. The date is not fixed yet. The Treasury will set it by statutory instrument, and October 2028 is the latest it can be.

"This measure reforms the customs treatment of LVIs by removing the £135 LVI relief"

Source: Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the UK, gov.uk, 13 July 2026.

What it means from Thailand: today a parcel under 135 pounds pays VAT and no duty. After the change, every parcel to the UK gets a duty assessment whatever its value, and VAT stays as it is. The route and its prices are in the guide on the cost to ship from Thailand to the UK.

February 2026: the ad valorem method becomes the only method for US parcels

The 800 dollar duty free allowance on parcels to the USA ended on 29 August 2025, for every country. A flat duty option ran for six months. From 28 February 2026 duty is value times rate, nothing else.

"The specific duty option will be available for six months; all shipments must use the ad valorem method beginning Feb 28, 2026."

Source: Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment, CBP Publication No. 5129-0825, cbp.gov, 18 August 2025.

What it means from Thailand: a 30 dollar parcel pays duty the same way a 3,000 dollar parcel does. Dragon Courier clears US customs itself and pays the duty before the box leaves Thailand, then UniUni or UPS delivers with nothing to collect. The route is in the guide on shipping from Thailand to the USA.

November 2025: Section 232 reaches trucks, buses and heavy vehicle parts

From 1 November 2025 parts for medium and heavy duty vehicles pay 25 percent on entry to the USA, and buses pay 10 percent. This is a second list, separate from the car parts list of May 2025.

"shall be subject to a 25 percent ad valorem duty rate, except for buses and other vehicles classified in HTSUS heading 8702, which shall be subject to a 10 percent ad valorem duty rate."

Source: Proclamation 10984, Adjusting Imports of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Parts, and Buses Into the United States, 90 FR 48451, 22 October 2025.

What it means from Thailand: a gearbox for a pickup sold as a light truck sits on the May list. The same gearbox for a 12 tonne truck sits on this one. The invoice has to say which vehicle the part fits. Base duty and tax terms for the route are on the USA destination page.

August 2025: 407 more codes join the US steel and aluminium list, motorcycle parts included

On 18 August 2025 the US added 407 tariff codes to the list of steel and aluminium derivative products. Subheading 8714.10.00, parts of motorcycles and mopeds, is one of them, next to complete motorcycles above 250cc and ten subheadings of car parts under 8708.

"For such products, steel and aluminum tariffs based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Section 232) will apply to the steel and aluminum content."

Source: Adoption and Procedures of the Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariff Inclusions Process, Bureau of Industry and Security, 90 FR 40326, 19 August 2025.

The rate on that list has been 50 percent since 4 June 2025.

"from 25 percent ad valorem to 50 percent ad valorem"

Source: Proclamation 10947, Adjusting Imports of Aluminum and Steel Into the United States, 90 FR 24199, 9 June 2025.

What it means from Thailand: a steel chain sprocket for a motorcycle is not on the car parts list. It is on this one, and the 50 percent is charged on the value of the steel in it, so that value has to be on the invoice. Dragon Courier works the duty out from the classification before export and puts it inside the price on the USA route.

September 2025: a standing process to add car parts to the 25 percent list

Since 3 May 2025, 130 tariff codes of car parts pay 25 percent on entry to the USA under Proclamation 10908. Since 17 September 2025 the Commerce Department runs a process that can add codes to that list, with windows in January, April, July and October.

"The Automobile Proclamation required the Secretary of Commerce to establish a process for including additional automobile parts articles for passenger vehicles and light trucks within the scope of the tariffs imposed by the President in the Automobile Proclamation. This interim final rule establishes the requisite process."

Source: Adoption and Procedures of the Section 232 Automobile Parts Tariff Inclusions Process, 90 FR 44767, 17 September 2025.

What it means from Thailand: as of 14 September 2026 no code has been added, so the April 2025 list is still the whole list. Brakes, suspension, engines, tyres, glass and most of heading 8708 are on it. A shipment of car parts needs its HTS code on the paperwork before it leaves, and the guide on the customs declaration and commercial invoice shows where it goes.

July 2025: the US allows growing media for two countries, and Thailand is not one of them

On 22 July 2025 APHIS authorised Phalaenopsis orchids from Germany and the Netherlands to enter the USA in approved growing media. No notice of that kind exists for Thailand. The default rule stays in force for Thai plants.

"Any plants for planting at the time of importation or offer for importation into the United States shall be free of sand, soil, earth, and other growing media, except as provided in paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section."

Source: 7 CFR 319.37-10(a), Growing media, eCFR, version of 1 September 2026.

What it means from Thailand: Thai plants for the USA travel bare root, with the roots wrapped in fresh sphagnum moss. Dragon Courier already ships that way on the US route, with the phytosanitary certificate and the CITES documents free of charge, so the notice changes nothing today. If Thailand ever receives its own authorisation, it will be the first entry on this page. The rules by destination are in the guide on importing plants from Thailand.

How this page is updated

A new entry goes up when a rule is confirmed on its cited source, with the quote and the link to the guide that explains it. Entries keep their original date once added, even after the rule takes effect, so the page reads as a record and not as a news feed.

About Dragon Courier

Dragon Courier is a Bangkok courier, 30 years in business, with more than 20,000 shipments a month worldwide. Delivery is duty and tax inclusive, door to door, on the USA, the UK, the EU, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and the UAE. On the US route Dragon Courier clears customs itself, then UniUni or UPS delivers depending on the tier. Dragon Courier is the number one exporter of live plants in Thailand, with free phytosanitary and CITES documents on the US route. Shipments travel by air only, and batteries are not carried to any destination.

Contacts

Office +66 2656 9019. LINE and WhatsApp +66 6-5937-0812. Email info@dragoncourier.com. Questions on a rule listed here, or on one that is missing, can go to the contact page.

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