Trimtabist

The independent observatory for US trade — ship movements, customs records and policy events, measured and tested.

What Thailand actually pays on citric acid

Importers of HS 2918.14 (citric acid) from Thailand actually paid 16% on the taxed portion of the value in 2026-06 — 16% across everything shipped, taxed or not. Measured from official duty receipts, not the rulebook: the statutory MFN base rate on this code is 6%. Over the window the rate on the taxed portion moved 6% → 16%, with the largest single step -6.5pp in 2026-03. Measured from official US duty receipts · as-of 2026-06 · confidence: measured, not modelled. The HTS base rate is 6% — importers actually paid 16%, so the trade-war overlay added 10 pts, measured at the border (not a summed rulebook estimate). Reproduce exactly: tariff_story(hs: "2918.14", origin: "Thailand") · see it at trimtabist.com/tariffs

Thailand paid 16% on HS 2918.14 — the schedule says 6% Collected rate on the taxed value — measured from US duty receipts, not the rulebook 16% HTS base 6% — the rulebook floor2023-072025-012026-06 Measured · as-of 2026-06 · Trimtab US Tariffs & Trade Ledger · trimtabist.com

HS 2918.14. The schedule base rate is 6%; importers from Thailand actually paid 16% on the dutiable value in 2026-06 — the trade-war overlay added 10 points, measured at the border. Measured, not modelled.

Over the window the collected rate moved 6% (2023-07) → 16% (2026-06), largest single step -6.5pp in 2026-03.

Landed cost vs the benchmark

Thailand's lower duty (16% vs 40.15%) lets it price up to 20.8% above China at the factory and still match on duty-inclusive customs cost. But on the LATEST measured prices, China actually lands cheaper — $1.28/kg vs $1.55/kg (duty in, freight out).

Go deeper

All goods from Thailand · the whole tariff ledger · reproduce: tariff_story(hs: "2918.14", origin: "Thailand") via /connect. Not customs or legal advice.

In print: “What Thailand actually pays on citric acid (HS 2918.14)” — Trimtab US Trade Ledger (TT-010 Duty receipts), US Census imports-for-consumption records — trimtabist.com/tariff/291814/thailand