US tariffs reportedly now also apply to Swiss gold bars

US tariffs now also apply to Swiss gold bars Keystone-SDA

Switzerland has been dealt a further blow in the trade dispute with the US, with gold bars now also subject to 39% tariffs, according to a media report.

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Up to now, it was believed that precious metals, remelted by Swiss refineries, could be exported to the US duty-free. However, this is no longer the case for certain forms of gold, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

According to the paper, US customs authorities told Swiss refineries in a ruling letter dated July 31 that one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars must be classified, and imported, under a tariff number subject to the 39% duty. The Swiss industry had previously assumed that these bars would fall under an exempt code.

According to the FT, the one-kilo bar is the most frequently traded gold unit on the world’s largest gold futures market, Comex in New York. This bar also accounts for the majority of Swiss gold exports to the US.

The tariff ruling is “another blow” to the Swiss gold trade with the US, according to Christoph Wild, president of the Swiss Association of Manufacturers and Traders of Precious Metals. Wild also told the FT that the tariffs would make it difficult to meet US demand for gold.

According to the paper, several Swiss refineries had spent months with lawyers trying to determine which types of products might be exempt from the tariffs, or not. Two refineries told the FT that they had temporarily reduced or halted shipments to the US due to the uncertainty.

Stocking up

Earlier this year, gold exports rose sharply as traders rushed to bring gold into the US before Trump’s tariffs. As a result, the FT writes, Comex stockpiles rose to record levels and there was a temporary shortage of gold in London – where the metal is generally traded in 400 troy ounce bars.

According to calculations by Tamedia newspapers, based on Swiss customs data, 476 tonnes of gold worth CHF39 billion ($48.3 billion) were shipped to the US in the first half of 2025 – a boom which further inflated the Swiss trade surplus with America.

According to the calculations, the trade surplus in the first half of the year came to CHF24 billion without gold. With the precious metal, it was twice as much, write the Tamedia papers. Some politicians have thus been calling for higher taxes on gold refineries, export duties and even export bans on gold.

Adapted from German/French by DeepL/dos

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