AGTA Goes to Thailand: Working Both Sides of the Tariff Agreement
The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) has taken its tariff campaign to Thailand.
AGTA President Bruce Bridges and CEO John Ford traveled to Bangkok earlier this month, meeting with members of Thailand’s gem and jewelry industry and, ultimately, senior officials of the Royal Thai Government.
Why Thailand?
Because getting gemstones exempted from U.S. tariffs is currently a two-part process.
AGTA has spent more than a year working on the U.S. side, convincing U.S. trade officials that gemstones should be eligible for tariff relief. But under the current country-by-country system, that’s only part one.
Part two requires the United States and the exporting country to reach a trade agreement that includes that tariff relief.
In other words, AGTA is working both sides of the agreement.
Why Thailand Matters
Thailand is one of the world’s great colored gemstone processing and trading centers.
Rough gemstones mined around the world flow through Thailand to be sorted, cut, treated and traded. Thailand is also an important jewelry manufacturing center, with finished goods moving from Thailand into markets around the world, including the United States.
And right now, those U.S. tariffs are substantial.
AGTA CEO John Ford tells the Roskin Gem News Report that the current tariff on loose gemstones shipped from Thailand into the United States is 12.5%. Ford put the tariff on finished goods at approximately 18.5%. Published reports citing AGTA place the combined duties on finished Thai jewelry at 17.5% to 19.5%, depending on the item.
Ford cautioned that rates are subject to change and advised importers to check with a licensed customs house broker before shipping.
That puts some numbers behind AGTA’s trip to Bangkok.
If the United States and Thailand can complete a trade agreement that provides tariff relief for gemstones, the consequences for the American colored gemstone trade could be significant.
So, Was it Successful?
Gary Roskin
Roskin Gem News Report
News of the trip first broke on September 12, when David Brough of Jewellery Outlook reported that AGTA President Bruce Bridges and CEO John Ford were in Bangkok and were scheduled to meet with senior Thai government officials to discuss the U.S.-Thailand trade negotiations.
Read David Brough’s original report in Jewellery Outlook:
“EXCLUSIVE – American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) to meet Thai government leaders to promote bilateral trade deal.”
Two days later, Bridges and Ford met with Thailand’s Vice Minister for Commerce and a delegation of senior government officials.
Here is how AGTA describes what happened:
“As reported in the news media last week, we traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, to meet with senior officials of the Royal Thai Government regarding ongoing bilateral trade negotiations between the United States and Thailand. Thailand is a key sourcing and processing country for AGTA Members, and the U.S. jewelry industry and AGTA requested the meeting to address our concerns about the status of negotiations.
“At the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair, AGTA held numerous meetings with key members of Thailand’s gem and jewelry industry to discuss the negotiations and help inform the input they would provide to their government. We also held separate meetings with Thai gem and jewelry industry leadership and Thai government officials, including Mrs. Nisabudh Virabutr, Director of the Lifestyle Trade Promotion Office within the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP).
“On Monday, September 14, we attended a private meeting at Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce with Dr. Kirida Bhaopichitr, Vice Minister for Commerce, who led a large delegation of senior Thai officials. This was a rare opportunity for a private discussion between AGTA and the Thai government.
“AGTA opened the discussion by outlining our concerns about the status of U.S. – Thailand negotiations and the risks to the Thai gem and jewelry industry’s supply chain if an agreement was not reached in the very near future. We then answered direct questions from Vice Minister Bhaopichitr and representatives of various Thai government departments. The discussion that followed was extremely productive and we have shared its details with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
“AGTA is extremely optimistic that a trade agreement between the United States and Thailand will become a reality sooner because of our meeting with the Royal Thai Government.
“We wish to thank the Royal Thai Government for meeting with us and for its commitment to resolving the outstanding issues necessary to reach a final Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) with the United States. We also extend special thanks to the leadership of the Thai gem and jewelry industry, who partnered with AGTA to make this meeting possible.”
September 28, 2026 — Just as we were preparing this story for publication, Thailand announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with the United States on the tariff negotiations.
UPDATE: U.S. and Thailand Reach Agreement in Principle
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun said the two sides have agreed on the substance of the tariff agreement, with technical details and wording still being finalized.
So there isn’t a final agreement yet.
And we don’t yet know what the agreement will mean specifically for tariffs on loose gemstones and finished jewelry from Thailand.
But the U.S.-Thailand trade negotiations that brought AGTA to Bangkok have now taken another significant step forward.
Working Both Sides
That last part is important.
AGTA has already been working with U.S. trade officials on tariff relief for gemstones. It then went to Thailand, worked with the Thai gem and jewelry industry, met directly with the Thai government about its negotiations with the United States, and brought the results of those discussions back to USTR.
That’s what working both sides of the agreement looks like. And now we’re waiting to find out whether gemstone tariff relief made it into the U.S.-Thailand agreement.
Thailand and the United States still have to finalize the agreement, and tariff relief for gemstones has to be included in the final arrangement for this effort to produce what the U.S. colored gemstone industry is looking for.
Ultimately, AGTA is seeking broader U.S. tariff relief for gemstones that would eliminate the need to do this country by country.
Until that happens, AGTA will continue working with countries that supply the U.S. gemstone market to get those trade agreements completed.
Thailand is AGTA’s first.
Who’s next?
Tap here to read the complete press release on the AGTA website
Tap here to read the very latest from Thailand
