Shipping Car Parts From Thailand to the USA: Duty, Batteries and What Gets Stopped

The 25 percent list

Section 232 put a flat 25 percent on imported automobile parts. The proclamation names the rate and the date, and the list of covered parts runs to roughly 140 tariff codes.

"(1) Except as otherwise provided in this proclamation, all imports of articles specified in Annex I to this proclamation or in any subsequent annex to this proclamation, as set out in a subsequent notice in the Federal Register, shall be subject to a 25 percent tariff with respect to goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 3, 2025, for automobiles, and on the date specified in the Federal Register for automobile parts, but no later than May 3, 2025"

Source: Proclamation 10908, Adjusting Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts Into the United States, 90 FR 14705, Federal Register, 3 April 2025.

The scope is set by vehicle type, not by the part alone:

"Automobile parts, for this purpose, include engines and engine parts, transmissions and powertrain parts, and electrical components, and parts of passenger vehicles (sedans, sport utility vehicles, crossover utility vehicles, minivans, and cargo vans) and light trucks classified under the HTS provisions enumerated in subdivision (g) of this note."

Source: Proclamation 10908, U.S. Note 33(f), subchapter III, chapter 99, HTSUS, 90 FR 14705.

Heading 8708, which covers most bolt-on parts, is on that list almost in full. Brakes at 8708.30, suspension at 8708.80, gearbox parts at 8708.40, clutches at 8708.93 and 8708.94. Tyres, glass, springs, locks, engines, pumps, filters, bearings, starter motors, alternators, wiring and seats are all named as well.

Motorcycle parts are a separate matter. The list is written around passenger cars and light trucks, and heading 8714, which is where motorcycle parts are classified, does not appear in it.

The list can grow. Commerce runs four two week windows a year in which US producers ask for more codes to be added:

"This IFR established recurring two-week windows each year for submissions of automobile parts in January, April, July, and October, beginning on the first of those months."

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

As of 8 September 2026 no notice adding new codes to Annex I has been published in the Federal Register. The list in force is the one from April 2025.

What the part pays when it is off the list

A part outside Section 232 pays the ordinary most favoured nation rate, and on car parts that rate is low. Thailand has no preferential agreement with the United States, so the general column is the one that applies.

Rates from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, US International Trade Commission, consulted 8 September 2026.

The codes in that table also sit on the Section 232 list. The 2.5 percent is the base rate, and the 25 percent applies on top of it when the part goes into a passenger vehicle or a light truck. A part for a bus or a heavy truck falls under a different proclamation.

The 800 dollar exemption no longer helps

Sellers used to split orders to keep each parcel under 800 dollars and clear it free of duty. That route is closed for courier shipments.

"The exemption provided in paragraph (a) of this section is suspended for merchandise arriving via all modes other than through the international postal network until such time as CBP determines that the application of the exemption is no longer inconsistent with the purpose of 19 U.S.C. 1321(a), no longer jeopardizes the revenue, and no longer facilitates unlawful importations."

Source: 19 CFR 10.151(b), eCFR, current as of 26 August 2026 (CBP Dec. 26-12, 91 FR 37800, 24 June 2026).

Every parcel is dutiable now, whatever it is worth. Shipments up to 2,500 dollars still clear under informal entry, which is a lighter procedure, not an exemption:

"(a) Shipments of merchandise not exceeding $2,500 in value (except for articles valued in excess of $250 classified in Chapter 99, Subchapters III and IV, HTSUS)"

Source: 19 CFR 143.21(a), eCFR, current as of 26 August 2026.

Chapter 99 is where the Section 232 headings live, so a shipment of listed car parts worth more than 250 dollars is outside the informal entry list and is entered formally.

Dragon Courier quotes the USA duty inclusive. The duty is calculated before the box leaves Thailand and sits inside the price, and the buyer receives the parcel with nothing to pay.

Batteries do not travel

Dragon Courier does not carry batteries to any destination. The restriction is a transport rule rather than a customs one, and it is why a part with a cell inside it needs a check before it is quoted.

"Except when lithium cells or batteries are packed with or contained in equipment in quantities not exceeding 5 kg net weight, the outer package that contains lithium cells or batteries must be appropriately marked: \"PRIMARY LITHIUM BATTERIES-FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT\", \"LITHIUM METAL BATTERIES-FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT\", \"LITHIUM ION BATTERIES-FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT\", or \"LITHIUM BATTERIES-FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT\", or labeled with a \"CARGO AIRCRAFT ONLY\" label as specified in § 172.448 of this subchapter."

Source: 49 CFR 173.185(c)(1)(iii), eCFR, consolidated 1 September 2026.

The rule reaches parts with a battery already fitted:

"(d) Lithium batteries. Except as provided in § 172.102, special provision A101, of this subchapter, vehicles, engines, and machinery powered by lithium metal batteries, that are transported with these batteries installed, are forbidden aboard passenger-carrying aircraft."

Source: 49 CFR 173.220(d), eCFR, consolidated 1 September 2026.

A control unit, a starter motor or an electric component with an integrated cell is checked with the team before it is packed. A mechanical part with no cell in it is not affected.

Fuel residue is the other common reason a part is refused. A used pump, injector or engine component that still smells of petrol is a dangerous goods problem, and it is drained and cleaned before it is presented, not after.

The paperwork on engines and complete assemblies

A loose bolt-on part carries an invoice and nothing else. An engine or a complete vehicle assembly brings two federal agencies into the entry, and the declarations are filed at the time of entry.

"(3) Required EPA documentation. Unless otherwise exempt, importers of motor vehicles must submit one of the following EPA declaration forms to CBP at the time of entry, or when filing a weekly entry from an FTZ in accordance with § 146.63(c)(1) of this chapter at the time of entry summary: (i) For heavy-duty motor vehicle engines, whether they are installed in a vehicle or separately imported as loose engines, submit EPA Declaration Form 3520-21, \"Importation of Engines, Vehicles, and Equipment Subject to Federal Air Pollution Regulations;\" (ii) For all other motor vehicles, submit EPA Declaration Form 3520-1, \"Importation of Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Engines Subject to Federal Air Pollution Regulations.\""

Source: 19 CFR 12.73(i)(3), eCFR, consolidated 1 September 2026.

Safety equipment has its own condition of entry:

"A motor vehicle (\"vehicle\") or item of motor vehicle equipment (\"equipment item\"), manufactured on or after January 1, 1968, is not permitted entry into the Customs territory of the United States unless (with certain exceptions set forth in paragraph (b) of this section) it is in conformity with applicable safety standards in effect at the time the vehicle or equipment item was manufactured."

Source: 19 CFR 12.80(a), eCFR, consolidated 1 September 2026.

An engine or a safety item, which means brakes, lighting, glass, seat belts and tyres, is worth confirming with the buyer before it is booked. A bracket, a trim panel or a gasket does not raise the question.

What it costs

Price is weight and dimension, quoted for the country, with duty and tax inside the number. The USA route runs on three tiers, and a seller shipping repeat orders should know which one is being bought.

Thai Baht, duty and tax included, price list of 3 August 2026.

Shipments run from 0.1 kg to 30 kg. There is no volume discount, no remote area surcharge and no hidden fee, and the price is the same on a first box as on a fiftieth.

A box is billed on its actual weight or on the space it takes in the hold, whichever is greater. Car parts are dense, so a small heavy part usually prices on its actual weight and a body panel prices on the space.

What to have ready before booking

The tariff code, or enough of a description to find it. The vehicle the part fits, because the 25 percent turns on passenger car or light truck. Whether there is a cell, a fluid or fuel residue anywhere in the item. The value on the invoice, part by part rather than as a single line.

Customs clearance is generally completed the same day the shipment is presented. Dragon Courier clears customs itself rather than handing the file to a broker.

About Dragon Courier

Dragon Courier is a Bangkok courier shipping worldwide from Thailand, with more than 20,000 shipments a month.

For the USA, Dragon Courier runs its own service to the destination and clears customs itself, then a US carrier delivers to the door. Duty and tax sit inside the quoted fee under the duty inclusive process, which covers the USA, the UK, the EU, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and the UAE.

Contacts and drop-off

A quote needs the part, the tariff code where it is known, and the destination. Office +66 2656 9019, 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 or the Chiang Mai office on Viangbua Road, and a pickup can be arranged for a date and time that suits. The wider route, including transit and what customs asks for, is set out in the guide on shipping from Thailand to the USA, and the categories Dragon Courier does not carry are listed in the guide on prohibited and restricted items.