US Imports by Country: 2026 Growth Report on Six Asian Sources

Six Asian Sources at a Glance: 2025 Totals and 2026 Growth

Vietnam is the largest of the six by value, and Thailand is growing fastest. South Korea is the only one that fell in 2025 (-4.5%), and India the only one that fell in the first half of 2026 (-12.4%).

Source: US Census Bureau country pages, Imports column, nominal US dollars, not seasonally adjusted, data through August 2026, read October 8, 2026. H1 is January to June.

Vietnam: $193.9 Billion in 2025, Growth Led by Laptops and Networking Equipment

Vietnam's 42.2% rise over 2024, to $193.9 billion in 2025, was led by computers and networking gear. Consumer lines such as sneakers, upholstered seats, vinyl flooring, toys and apparel grew too, at lower rates.

The pace held into 2026, with every month at least 32% above the same month of 2025. For ports, transit times and rates on this route, see our shipping from Vietnam to USA page.

Source: UN Comtrade, US-reported imports from Vietnam, FOB value, 2025 against 2024. Mode is the study's classification by product type and value density, not a measured split.

What this means for an importer: Vietnamese goods pay the 12.5% Section 301 rate unless the line is exempt, and none of the apparel and footwear codes in Table 2 has a line on the Annex I list.

South Korea: Back to Growth in 2026 on Machinery and Electronics

South Korea fell 4.5% in 2025, to $125.5 billion, then grew 21.1% in the first half of 2026, the only one of the six to make that turn. Machinery and electrical equipment drove it. Imports under HS chapter 84 rose 103.5% in June 2026 against June 2025 ($4.754 billion against $2.336 billion) and 131.4% in July. Chapter 85 rose 66.3% in June ($3.656 billion against $2.199 billion) and 81.3% in July. Every month of 2026 has been above the same month of 2025.

Among the 2025 product lines, lithium-ion batteries grew 71% to $2.3 billion, and our guide to shipping lithium batteries explains how they move as dangerous goods. Korean cargo out of Busan and Incheon is covered on our shipping from Asia to USA page.

Source: UN Comtrade, US-reported imports from South Korea, FOB value, 2025 against 2024. Mode is the study's classification by product type and value density, not a measured split.

What this means for an importer: on Korean goods, Section 301 tops the MFN rate up to 12.5% instead of adding to it, so a line whose MFN rate is already 12.5% or more pays no Section 301 duty.

India: Smartphones Carried 2025, and Imports Turned Up Again in July

US imports from India rose 18.9% in 2025, to $103.8 billion, and smartphones account for most of the gain. HS 8517.13 reached $22.0 billion, up 218%. Its $15.1 billion rise is about 91% of the whole increase that year ($16.5 billion on the Census totals).

India's 2026 started lower. Every month from January to June ran below the same month of 2025, with March the low point (-25.3%). July turned positive (+4.6%) and August followed (+16.2%). Our shipping from India to USA page has the ports, transit times and rates, and the wider Indian basket, with the duty layers on Indian goods, is in our guide to importing from India.

Source: UN Comtrade, US-reported imports from India, FOB value, 2025 against 2024. Mode is the study's classification by product type and value density, not a measured split.

What this means for an importer: the dollar recovery since July has not reached India's containers yet (-12.8% in August, -2.4% in September). On this lane, the monthly read tells you more than the annual one.

Thailand: Fastest Growth of the Six, Past Its Full 2025 Total by August

US imports from Thailand grew 45.0% in 2025 to $91.3 billion, then 72.4% in the first half of 2026 and 70.6% from January to August, the highest rate of the six on each count. By the end of August, imports for 2026 had reached $92.7 billion, already above the full 2025 total.

Computers and data-center hardware explain most of the growth. Four lines (communication apparatus, processing units, storage units and laptops) add up to $37.9 billion, or 41.5% of everything the US imported from Thailand in 2025. Ports, transit times and rates for the Thai lane are on our shipping from Thailand to USA page.

Source: UN Comtrade, US-reported imports from Thailand, FOB value, 2025 against 2024. Mode is the study's classification by product type and value density, not a measured split.

What this means for an importer: Thai products pay the 12.5% Section 301 rate unless the line is exempt. The four big computer and networking codes (8517.62, 8471.50, 8471.70 and 8471.30) all have lines on the Annex I list, and the appliance and furniture codes are not on it, but refrigerators, freezers, cooking ranges, home air conditioners and auto parts pay a Section 232 duty instead of the 12.5%.

Malaysia: Chips and Data-Center Hardware Lead a 35% First Half

US imports from Malaysia grew 14.1% in 2025 to $59.5 billion, then 35.1% in the first half of 2026. August was up 94.8% on August 2025, the steepest August rise of the six.

Semiconductors and data-center hardware lead. Processors and controllers, communication apparatus, computer parts and server boards, servers and memory chips together come to $21.8 billion, 36.6% of Malaysia's 2025 total. The lane itself, with ports, transit times and rates, is on our shipping from Malaysia to USA page.

Source: UN Comtrade, US-reported imports from Malaysia, FOB value, 2025 against 2024. Mode is the study's classification by product type and value density, not a measured split.

What this means for an importer: at 10%, the Section 301 rate on Malaysian goods sits below the 12.5% on Thai and Vietnamese goods. Malaysia's chip and server-board codes have lines on the Annex I list, while its gloves, batteries and vacuum cleaners have none.

Cambodia: Travel Goods, Apparel and Tires; the Top US Source of Bags and Luggage in 2025

Cambodia is the smallest of the six, at $15.3 billion in 2025 (+21.0%), and it grew 33.7% in the first half of 2026. In 2025 it became the largest single source of US imports of backpacks, luggage and handbags (HS 4202), at $1.92 billion out of $11.00 billion from all countries. That put it ahead of China ($1.78 billion), Vietnam ($1.42 billion) and Italy ($1.41 billion). In 2024 China had led with $2.61 billion.

Sweaters and hoodies grew 44% to $1.3 billion, car and truck tires 54% to $1.1 billion and leather footwear 52% to $0.7 billion. Growth is slowing through 2026, from +49.8% in January to +8.9% in July and +15.0% in August. Our guide to importing apparel covers what the apparel and footwear lines involve at import.

Source: UN Comtrade, US-reported imports from Cambodia, FOB value, 2025 against 2024. Mode is the study's classification by product type and value density, not a measured split.

What this means for an importer: none of Cambodia's bag, apparel, footwear, tire or furniture codes is on the Annex I exemption list. Expect the 10% Section 301 rate on top of MFN unless the planned textile and apparel quotas take effect. Car tires, radial truck tires and upholstered wooden seats are the exception: they pay a 25% Section 232 duty instead of the 10%.

How the Growth Ships: Air, Ocean and US Gateways

This study assigns each product line a primary shipping channel based on product type and value density. Read it as the way a line usually moves, not a measured split. For the choice on your own cargo, see our guide to air versus ocean freight.

Air-led lines: computers, networking equipment, chips and smartphones

In the study's classification, 24 of the 103 lines in Tables 2 to 7 fly and 6 more split between air and ocean, and those 30 include the ten largest lines by value. Our guide to importing electronics covers what these goods need at import.

Ocean-led lines: furniture, apparel, footwear, appliances and tires

Every growing line from Cambodia is classed as ocean cargo, and so are Vietnam's furniture, apparel, footwear and appliances. India's shrimp go in reefers and its gasoline by tanker, and batteries from South Korea and Malaysia ship as dangerous-goods ocean cargo. Furniture is a typical container line, and our guide to importing furniture covers it.

Containers versus dollars in August and September 2026

Containers grew far more slowly than dollars. According to Descartes, US containerized imports totaled 2,546,261 TEU in September 2026, up 10.3% on September 2025. China alone accounted for 924,454 TEU, 36.3% of the total. Of the six, Vietnam, India, Thailand and South Korea appear in Descartes' top-ten origin tables, in that order after China.

Source: Descartes Global Shipping Report, October 2026 edition (September data) and September 2026 edition (August data), based on initial CBP bill-of-lading data; US Census Bureau country pages for dollars.

A gap this wide between box counts and value is consistent with growth led by high-value electronics, much of which the study classes as air cargo.

Typical US gateways by origin

Source: study classification from typical trade lanes, indicative.

What this means for an importer: growth from these six origins is splitting between lines the study classes as air cargo (electronics) and as ocean cargo (consumer goods). Los Angeles and Long Beach, New York and New Jersey and Savannah appear in the ocean gateway list for all six origins.

US Tariffs on the Six Countries as of October 8, 2026

On October 8, 2026, goods from all six countries pay the MFN rate for their HTS line plus a Section 301 forced-labor tariff of 10% or 12.5% (12.5% net of MFN for South Korea), unless an exemption applies. Goods under the main Section 232 programs (metals, vehicles and parts, trucks and buses, wood, chips and patented drugs) pay the Section 232 duty instead of the Section 301 rate. The IEEPA tariffs of 2025, including Cambodia's 19% and India's 50%, have ended. Use this section as a dated summary for planning, not as a duty ruling.

Source: Federal Register doc 2026-15181; EO 14326 and its Annex I; Federal Register notices for India listed in the sections below.

What ended in 2026: IEEPA tariffs and the Section 122 surcharge

The Supreme Court held on February 20, 2026, in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, that "IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs" (opinion). Executive Order 14389, signed the same day, ended the IEEPA duties (Federal Register), and CBP stopped collecting them for goods entered on or after February 24, 2026 (CBP bulletin). Section 232 and Section 301 duties were not part of that order.

A temporary Section 122 surcharge of 10% then applied from February 24, 2026 until it expired at the close of July 23, 2026 (proclamation; Harmonized Tariff Schedule, chapter 99).

Cambodia's 19% came from EO 14326 (order), and India's additional 25% took effect on August 27, 2025 (notice) and ended on February 7, 2026 under EO 14384 (Federal Register). Our tariff refunds guide explains how refunds of IEEPA duties work.

The Section 301 forced-labor tariff since July 24, 2026

USTR's action in 60 Section 301 investigations applies to goods entered on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 24, 2026 (Federal Register doc 2026-15181, notice). Goods loaded before that moment and entered before 12:01 a.m. on July 28 are not covered. For textiles and apparel from Cambodia and Malaysia, the notice provides for tariff-rate quotas "when feasible". Until they exist, the 10% country rate applies to those goods as well.

Annex II of the notice lists the exempt HTS lines, in a shared Part A and separate parts for 13 economies (Cambodia's cover none of the lines in Table 7). Annex I writes them into HTS U.S. note 52, as note 52(b) for all economies and note 52(j) by economy. It also exempts civil aircraft, articles for pharmaceutical applications and goods under the main Section 232 programs (notes 52(d) to 52(f)), and donations and informational materials (headings 9903.05.91 and 9903.05.92).

Among the codes in this report's growth tables, Annex I includes at least one line under 8471.30, 8471.50, 8471.70, 8473.30, 8517.13, 8517.62, 8523.51, 8528.52 (monitors), 8542.31, 8542.32, 3002.15, 3004, 2710.12, 1803, 1804 and 1513 (two lines), and no other code in the growth tables has a line on it. Lines without an entry in note 52(b) pay the country rate unless another exemption in note 52 applies, such as the one for Section 232 goods. A listed code does not make every line under it exempt.

The Section 301 lists on Chinese goods are a separate action, covered in our Section 301 tariffs guide.

Section 232 duties that apply instead of it on covered goods

Section 232 duties apply by product, whatever the origin. The programs in force include:

• Metals: since April 6, 2026, steel, aluminum and copper articles and the derivatives in Annex I-A pay 50% on the full customs value, and the derivatives in Annex I-B pay 25%. The rate is 10% where the metal was smelted or melted in the US. Through December 31, 2027, a temporary combined 15% tier (MFN rate plus Section 232) applies to some derivative machinery and equipment. No Section 232 duty is added where the MFN rate is 15% or more (Proclamation 11021, Federal Register).
• Pharmaceuticals: patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients pay 100%, with 15% for Japan, the EU, Korea, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Generics and biosimilars are not adjusted "at this time" (Proclamation 11020, Federal Register).
• Semiconductors: 25% on a "very narrow category" of advanced computing chips and derivatives (Proclamation 11002, Federal Register). It is not applied for use in US data centers, repairs, R&D, startups, or consumer, civil industrial and public-sector uses.
• Wood products: softwood timber and lumber pay an additional 10%, and upholstered wooden furniture (certain lines under 9401.61.40 and 9401.61.60) and completed wooden kitchen cabinets and vanities, with their parts, pay an additional 25%. For upholstered furniture and cabinets from Japan, the EU, South Korea and Taiwan, the MFN rate and Section 232 together come to 15%, and UK goods pay an additional 10% (HTS headings 9903.76.01 to 9903.76.24, U.S. note 37).
• Autos and parts: listed parts have paid 25% since May 3, 2025, and South Korea has had a combined 15% cap since November 1, 2025. Medium and heavy trucks pay 25% and buses 10% since November 1, 2025.

What this means for an importer: two products from the same factory can now pay different duty, because the exemptions run by HTS line. Price each line on its own code before you place the order.

What the Shift Means for US Importers

If you source from these countries, the data points to three shifts to plan around.

Origin comes first. Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia are growing fastest in 2026, and South Korea has turned back to growth. India dipped in the first half and is recovering, while Cambodia keeps growing at a slower pace.

The product mix has shifted too: the largest gains are in computers, networking equipment and chips, lines the study classes mostly as air cargo, while the growing furniture, apparel, footwear, appliance and tire lines are classed as ocean cargo.

Then there is duty. All six now carry a Section 301 rate of 10% to 12.5%, with exemptions by HTS line, and goods under the main Section 232 programs pay the Section 232 duty instead.

In practice, keep the lines the study classes as air cargo and the ocean lines in separate plans: air capacity for the high-value electronics, and container space booked ahead of peak season for furniture, apparel, appliances and tires.

How Platton Helps With Imports From Asia

How Platton helps on the Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and India lanes

Platton's import specialists book your cargo on the Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and India lanes. From Vietnam we ship out of Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong, and from India out of Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Chennai. In Thailand we load at Laem Chabang and Bangkok. In Malaysia we sail from Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas and fly from Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

Sailings with Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Evergreen and Hapag-Lloyd land at Los Angeles and Long Beach, Seattle and Tacoma, Oakland, New York and New Jersey, Savannah, Charleston, Norfolk and Houston, so you can route the cargo to the gateway closest to your warehouse. Real-time tracking and automated documentation keep you updated before you have to ask.

How Platton helps with ocean and air freight for electronics and consumer goods

Much of the growth in this report is high-value electronics or bulky consumer goods, and we move both. Book ocean freight as FCL when your volume fills a container or LCL when it does not. Either way you get confirmed space on the sailing you need, peak season included. Use air freight for computer parts, networking equipment and other lines that cannot wait for a vessel.

Every quote is live, at competitive rates negotiated with the major carriers, and each charge is named before you book. Every shipment then runs on our AI-driven platform, with real-time tracking and automated documentation, so you always see where your cargo is and what it costs.

How Platton helps with buyers consolidation

Buying from several factories? With buyers consolidation, each supplier delivers to our origin warehouse and we load the cargo into one container. You pay for one ocean move and one delivery instead of several part loads, and you manage every order on one platform for quotes, bookings, documents and tracking. For suppliers across China, Vietnam and India in the same shipment cycle, the cargo is consolidated at a regional hub before the container loads.

Shipping from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, India or elsewhere in Asia? Request a quote and get live pricing for your lane, with your rate locked at booking.

Methodology and Sources

Every number on this page comes from a named public source. Platton adds the selection of countries and lines, the classification of how goods ship and the importer's reading. The monthly Index follows its own methodology, and this report applies the same sourcing rule to annual and year-to-date data.

Sources

• Country totals: US Census Bureau country pages for Vietnam, South Korea, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia; release dates from the FT-900 release and the release schedule.
• Product lines: UN Comtrade, US imports by HS code from each of the six countries, annual data at FOB value for 2025 and 2024, plus HS 4202 from all countries. South Korea's chapter 84 and 85 figures for June and July of 2025 and 2026 come from UN Comtrade monthly data.
• Containers: Descartes Global Shipping Report, October 2026 edition (September data) and September 2026 edition (August data).
• Tariffs: the Federal Register, Supreme Court, White House, CBP and HTS documents linked in the tariff section, next to the rate each one confirms.
• Shipping mode and gateways: the study's own classification, described under Definitions and limits.

Data months and the next update

The Census figures run through August 2026, from the FT-900 release of Tuesday, October 6, 2026 (Release Number CB 26-160). The next Census release, with September data, came out on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. It leaves the January to August figures above unchanged. The UN Comtrade product lines compare full-year 2025 with 2024. No 2026 annual figure exists yet, and the monthly series runs through August 2026 (a September query for South Korea returned no records on November 9, 2026). The Descartes figures come from the October 2026 edition, covering September 2026. Tariffs are as in force on October 8, 2026, under HTS Revision 20, effective September 28, 2026.

Definitions and limits

Import value is the Census Imports column in nominal US dollars, not seasonally adjusted. Annual totals are the TOTAL row, which differs from the sum of the twelve months by no more than $0.2 million because of rounding. Growth for 2025 compares the full year with 2024, and H1 compares January to June 2026 with January to June 2025. Product growth is FOB value in 2025 divided by FOB value in 2024, minus one, on the US-reported Comtrade series. Census and Comtrade country totals differ slightly because the bases differ (Comtrade FOB against the Census Imports column), and this report cites Census for totals. Product names are plain-language labels for the HS codes printed next to them. Our HTS and HS codes guide explains the HS and HTS system itself.

The mode column is the study's classification by product type and value density, not a data series, because mode data by country requires an account with USA Trade Online, the Census API or USITC DataWeb. The gateway lists show typical trade lanes and are indicative. Descartes builds its figures from the initial release of CBP bill-of-lading data, which CBP can revise, and publishes container changes only for the top ten origins. The product tables cover growing lines, not each country's full basket, and the report does not rank every US trading partner.

Use This Data

You are welcome to quote this report. Cite it as: Platton Import Index, "US Imports by Country: 2026 Growth Report on Six Asian Sources", data as of October 8, 2026, www.platton.ai/import-index/us-import-growth-report/. When you quote a single figure, name its primary source as well (US Census Bureau for country totals, UN Comtrade for product lines, Descartes for containers, the Federal Register or CBP for tariffs), because the data months differ. For the monthly view of rates, volumes and rules, see the Platton Import Index. For a question about a figure, write to cs@platton.ai.

Common Questions About US Imports by Country

Trade Lane Guides

• Shipping from Vietnam to USA: ports, transit times, and ocean and air rates.
• Shipping from Asia to USA: the wider Asia lane, including South Korea.
• Shipping from India to USA: Nhava Sheva, Mundra and the routes into US gateways.
• Shipping from Thailand to USA: Laem Chabang, Bangkok and the duty line on Thai goods.
• Shipping from Malaysia to USA: Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas, Penang and the Section 301 rate.
• All trade lanes: every origin we ship from, in one place.