Thailand’s tariff commitments for imports under RCEP
In the RCEP Agreement, Thailand’s tariff commitments are set out in Chapter 2 – Trade in Goods and Annex I – the section on Thailand’s Tariff Schedule for RCEP Parties. Specifically:
- Chapter 2 – Trade in Goods: This chapter contains the specific rules governing trade in goods within the RCEP region, most importantly including commitments on import tariffs (such as tariff reduction principles and national treatment obligations) as well as commitments relating to non-tariff measures (internal taxes and charges, import and export restrictions, import licensing, etc.);
- Annex I – Thailand’s tariff commitments for RCEP Parties: This includes one common tariff schedule that Thailand applies to all RCEP member countries for most tariff lines, except for 98 tariff lines for which Thailand applies differentiated tariff treatment (that is, Thailand has committed to different tariff reduction schedules for RCEP members with respect to these 98 tariff lines).
These tariff lines subject to differentiated tariff treatment are specified in detail in the Sub-Annex to Thailand’s Annex I of the RCEP Agreement. The list of goods subject to such differentiated preferential tariff commitments must comply with the applicable “additional rules of origin” and the corresponding implementation schedule for those additional rules of origin.
Principles for determining the applicable preferential tariff rate
When RCEP goods are imported into Thailand, the preferential tariff rate applicable to a specific shipment shall be determined as follows:
(i) For goods listed in the Sub-Annex to Thailand’s Annex I
Depending on whether the goods satisfy the specific conditions relating to the applicable additional rules of origin (ROO), the preferential tariff rate for the imported goods shall be determined according to either:
- The preferential tariff rate that Thailand grants to the exporting RCEP country; or
- The preferential tariff rate that Thailand grants to the RCEP country having the largest share in the value of the originating materials used in the goods.
In both of the above cases, the exporter must possess sufficient supporting documents proving that the goods fully satisfy the specific origin conditions required in order to enjoy preferential tariff treatment under the relevant case.
(ii) For goods not listed in the Sub-Annex to Thailand’s Annex I
The preferential tariff rate for the goods shall be determined in accordance with the tariff schedule of commitments that Thailand grants to the exporting RCEP country (based on the general RCEP rules of origin applicable to the goods).
For both cases (i) and (ii) above, if the Thai importer does not have sufficient supporting documents required to claim preferential tariff treatment under the rules applicable to each case, the importer may still request that RCEP preferential tariff treatment be applied to goods qualifying as originating goods at one of the following two rates:
- The highest tariff rate among the preferential tariff rates that Thailand applies to the RCEP exporting countries contributing originating materials used in the production of the goods (the Thai importer must provide evidence of those sources of originating materials); or
- The highest preferential tariff rate that Thailand grants for those goods to any RCEP member country.
Source: Center for WTO and International Trade - VCCI
Thailand's tariff commitment schedule under the RCEP is attached below:
