Muay Thai Gear From Thailand to the USA: What Shorts, Gloves and Shin Guards Pay at Customs

What does each piece of Muay Thai gear pay at US customs?

Each item in a Muay Thai order pays the rate of its own tariff line. Satin or nylon shorts are clothing at 27.9 percent, leather gloves are sports gloves at 4.9 percent, and hand wraps and pads sit in the sports equipment heading at 4 percent.

Sources: Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, U.S. International Trade Commission, general rates at September 2026; CBP rulings as listed.

No US customs ruling uses the words "Muay Thai". Classification follows boxing and kickboxing rulings, which is standard practice because the fabric, construction and use are the same. A Thai maker should describe each item on the invoice by what it is and what it is made of, for example "men's shorts, 100% polyester satin, woven", not "Muay Thai set".

Why are the shorts taxed so much more than the gloves?

The shorts are taxed more because US customs treats them as ordinary clothing, and clothing of synthetic fibre carries some of the highest rates in the tariff schedule. The gloves are leather sports gloves, and sports gear sits in lower lines.

CBP has ruled on Thai-made kickboxing shorts directly. In ruling 889707, on a pair of nylon shorts from Thailand, the agency wrote:

"Item No. BS-1603 is a pair of man's shorts constructed from 100 percent nylon, woven fabric. The sample, referred to in your letter as 'kickboxing shorts,' has a fully elasticized waistband and an inside drawstring."

Source: Ruling 889707, The tariff classification of a man's pair of woven shorts from Thailand, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The ruling placed the shorts in the men's synthetic trousers and shorts heading. The rate in that branch has stayed between 27.9 and 29.7 percent across rulings from 1993 to 2010, and it is 27.9 percent in the 2026 schedule.

Leather gloves went the other way. Gloves with a synthetic shell are not leather under the tariff schedule and take a different line, so the invoice should say which. Ruling N246251 on leather boxing gloves reads:

"The applicable subheading for Style 910036 (Boxing Glove) will be 4203.21.8060, HTSUS, which provides for Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, of leather or of composition leather: Gloves, mittens and mitts: Specially designed for use in sports: Other…Other. The rate of duty will be 4.9% ad valorem."

Source: Ruling N246251, The tariff classification of boxing gloves and a storage bag, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Older guides still quote a Free rate for leather boxing gloves and for shin guards and pads. Those were temporary provisions, 9902.12.60 and 9902.17.92, and they expired on 31 December 2020. The 2026 schedule says so in its note to that subchapter:

"The provisions of this subchapter have expired. As of the issue date of this edition, Congress had not acted on tariff suspension or reduction provisions recommended by the Commission in 2020."

Source: Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, Revision 20 (2026), chapter 99, subchapter II, U.S. International Trade Commission.

What does the extra tariff on goods of Thailand add?

The extra tariff on goods of Thailand is 12.5 percent, charged in addition to the ordinary rate. On woven shorts that means 27.9 plus 12.5, or 40.4 percent of the value, and on leather gloves 4.9 plus 12.5, or 17.4 percent.

The rate comes from a Section 301 action of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, in force for goods entered from 24 July 2026:

the Trade Representative has determined to impose 12.5 percent tariffs on products of Thailand, except as provided in Annex I and Annex II, Part A, of this Notice.

Source: Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Federal Register, 28 July 2026.

The 19 percent quoted on many pages is out of date. That reciprocal tariff, set in August 2025, stopped being collected for goods entered from 24 February 2026, after the US Supreme Court held that the law behind it did not authorise tariffs. Trade rules have changed three times in a year, so the rate that applies is the rate on the date of entry.

For a gym owner comparing a Thai maker's price with a US distributor's, this is the number to add first. Shorts that cost 10 dollars in Bangkok arrive as roughly 14.04 dollars of value and duty before shipping, and the buyer who did not plan for it pays it at the door.

Does a small order still enter the USA duty free?

No. The exemption that let orders under 800 dollars into the USA without duty was suspended for every country from 29 August 2025, so every Muay Thai order from Thailand pays duty, whatever its value.

CBP's implementing notice says the exemption "shall no longer apply to any shipment of articles not covered by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b), regardless of value, country of origin, mode of transportation, or method of entry".

Source: Notice of Implementation of the President's Executive Order 14324, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register, 2 September 2025.

A fighter ordering one pair of shorts and a gym ordering forty pay the same rates. The difference is who handles the paperwork and the bill. With a service that does not include duty, the carrier collects it from the receiver before delivery. With Dragon Courier the duty and the 12.5 percent are paid in Bangkok, inside the price, and the gym receives the box without a bill.

What labels do the shorts need before they leave Thailand?

The shorts need a label with the fibre content, the name or RN of the company, and the country of origin, sewn in before export. These rules come from the Federal Trade Commission's textile regulations and apply to every garment sold in the USA:

"The required information shall include the following: (1) The generic names and percentages by weight of the constituent fibers present in the textile fiber product ... (2) The name, provided for in § 303.19, or registered identification number issued by the Commission, of the manufacturer or of one or more persons marketing or handling the textile fiber product. (3) The name of the country where such product was processed or manufactured"

Source: 16 CFR 303.16, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations.

The RN is issued by the Commission to "qualified persons residing in the United States", so a Thai maker without a US company puts its business name on the label, or the US distributor's RN. Robes and T-shirts with a neck carry the origin label at the inside centre of the neck. Gloves, shin guards and wraps are not textile garments, but like every import they must show the country of origin in English in a visible place under 19 CFR 134.11.

Muay Thai is, in the words of the Thai government's Public Relations Department, "both a martial art and a national sport of Thailand", and "Made in Thailand" on the label is part of what US buyers pay for.

About Dragon Courier

Dragon Courier is a Bangkok courier, family owned, with more than 30 years in logistics in Thailand and more than 20,000 shipments a month to over 200 destinations. On the USA route it runs its own service to the USA and clears customs itself, then a US carrier delivers the last leg. Prices are duty and tax inclusive, so the tariff line and the 12.5 percent are paid in Bangkok.

Thai Baht, duty and tax included, general price list of 3 August 2026. Cartons are charged on actual weight or on dimensions, whichever is greater. Lighter parcels up to 8 kg can go on the e-commerce tier, and the full list is in the guide on shipping costs from Thailand to the USA. The rules for other clothing, and for larger wholesale orders, are in the guides on shipping garments from Thailand to the USA and shipping clothes from Thailand.

Contacts and drop-off

The contents of the box and where it is going are enough to get a quote. Office +66 2656 9019, Justin is on LINE and WhatsApp at +66 6-5937-0812, or info@dragoncourier.com. Drop-off runs until 17:00, Monday to Saturday, at the Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Soi 4 (217/3 Crystal Garden Building, 3rd floor, Klongtoey 10110) or the Chiang Mai office on Viangbua Road, and a pickup can be arranged for a date and time that suits. Are the shorts in the box labelled before they leave Thailand?