This is the single most under-appreciated risk in the whole business, and it has got worse twice since 2025.
This is not legal or customs advice. Verify with a licensed customs broker before you ship commercially.
The headline that misleads people
HTS heading 6309.00.00 — worn clothing and other worn articles carries a general rate of Free. Every reseller forum repeats this, and it is true as far as it goes.
The test CBP actually applies
Since 1998, US Customs and Border Protection has applied a stricter reading than the World Customs Organization. To qualify under 6309, goods must:
- Show appreciable signs of wear — meaning, in CBP's framing, be in poor condition; and
- Be presented in bulk — in bales, sacks or similar bulk packings, or in bundles tied together without external wrapping.
Read those two conditions against what a sourcing buyer actually brings home: curated, wearable, individually-bagged vintage. It fails both tests. The risk is reclassification into Chapters 61 and 62 — ordinary apparel — at rates reported as high as 32%.
The irony is exact: the better your buying, the worse your customs position. A bale of rags qualifies. Thirty graded, pressed, individually-polybagged band tees do not.
What changed in 2026
Section 301 forced-labor tariffs. Thailand sits in the 12.5% additive tier, effective 24 July 2026, paid on top of whatever rate applies. This followed the Supreme Court striking down the IEEPA tariffs on 20 February 2026 and a temporary Section 122 surcharge that expired on 24 July.
De minimis is gone. Executive Order 14324 suspended the $800 exemption from 29 August 2025, and an interim final rule of 24 June 2026 made the suspension indefinite for all non-postal modes. Statutory termination lands 1 July 2027. Low-value shipments now require informal (Type 11) or formal entry.
The practical effect: you can no longer mail yourself twenty sub-$800 boxes duty-free, which is how a large part of the small-scale sourcing trade used to operate.
What to do about it
There is no clean trick here, only better and worse preparation.
If you are importing in genuine bulk — sacks, bales, unsorted — document it that way. Bulk packing list, photographs of the goods as packed, commercial invoice describing condition honestly. You have a real 6309 case.
If you are importing curated stock, assume Chapters 61/62 and price it in. Work out your landed cost at 32% plus 12.5% and see whether the trip still works. For a lot of buyers it still does, because the Thai purchase price is so low. But find out before you ship, not at the border.
Never mis-describe goods to get a rate. Undervaluation and misclassification are penalty offences, and customs brokers will not help you do it.
Talk to a broker before the first commercial shipment. One consultation costs less than one reclassified consignment.
Elsewhere, briefly
EU — CN 6309000000 carries 5.3% duty third-country, plus import VAT of 19–27% by member state. Thailand gets no preference. Since 1 July 2026 the €150 duty exemption has been replaced by a temporary €3-per-item flat fee, running to 1 July 2028.
Australia — the constraint is biosecurity, not tariff. Practitioner guidance is that curated, individually-laundered stock clears with a cleanliness declaration, while bulk unsorted bales face higher inspection rates and permit requirements. One cited inspection cost around A$380 with an eight-day delay; treatment and fumigation can run into the thousands. Launder before packing and photograph it.
UK — check the rate directly at the Trade Tariff service before relying on any figure, including one from a blog. Import VAT at 20% applies.
The honest summary
The customs position is the reason this trade has a moat. Anybody can fly to Bangkok and buy cheap clothes. Rather fewer people can land them in a Western market at a predictable cost. If you get the compliance side right, that is a durable advantage over every reseller who does not.