Portugal Colonial - Swiss gold refining sector stung by US tariffs

The price of gold on the US futures market hit a record high Friday after US customs authorities clarified that gold bars weighing either one kilogram or 100 ounces (2.8 kilograms) should be classified as subject to so-called reciprocal tariffs.

The July 31 letter was first reported late Thursday by the Financial Times.

But a White House official told AFP that President Donald Trump's administration plans to "issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products".

It was not immediately clear if this meant the products would therefore be exempt from Trump's "reciprocal" levies, imposed to address what Washington deems as unfair trade deficits.

One-kilo gold bars are the most traded type of bullion on Comex -- the world's biggest futures market -- and Switzerland is a major supplier of the bars on the physical market.

Expectations had been widespread that gold bars would be classified under a different customs code that excludes them from Trump's countrywide tariffs. Higher "reciprocal" rates took effect Thursday on dozens of economies.

Swiss officials travelled to Washington this week to seek a deal similar to the European Union, whose products now face a 15-percent rate. But they came back empty handed.

The customs update increased pressure on the Swiss government as gold trading weighs heavily on its trade balance.

John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cite Gestion, expects some of the gold refining business would likely flow to other industry centres such as Antwerp.

Gold bars produced in the Belgian city Antwerp face a 15-percent US tariff applied to EU goods.

- Refining powerhouse -

Switzerland is home to four of the world's largest gold refineries, the largest being Valcambi in Balerna, in the Italian-speaking part of the country.

They import unrefined gold coming from mines, recycled jewellery or lower-purity bars to be recast into high-quality bars, making Switzerland a hub for the global gold trade.

These bars are then reintroduced to the market for jewellery, watchmaking, industry and tech products, as well as the banking sector and for use as central bank reserves.

- Over a third of global refining -

According to a Swiss Federal Customs Administration report, the country imported 2,372 tonnes of gold in 2023 and re-exported 1,564 tonnes.

The value of these exports approached 88 billion Swiss francs ($109 billion at current rates), with the main buyers being China at 25.1 billion francs and India at 13.1 billion francs.

Including other precious metals like silver and palladium, the sector accounts for 1,500 direct jobs in the country and 1,000 indirect jobs, according to the Swiss association of manufacturers and traders of precious metals.

In 2023, Switzerland accounted for 34 percent of the total refined gold worldwide, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

- Export surge to the US -

Swiss gold exports to the United States soared to 11 billion Swiss francs last year, nearly doubling from 6.1 billion in 2023.

They then skyrocketed in the first half of 2025, reaching 39.2 billion francs, compared to nearly 1.7 billion in the first half of 2024, according to data Swiss customs provided to AFP.

Nearly all of the gold -- 37.6 billion francs' worth -- was exported in the first quarter of 2025. Shipments then plummeted sharply to roughly 1.6 billion francs in the second quarter.

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter on Thursday strongly disagreed with how Trump assessed the US trade deficit with Switzerland, and thus the high tariff imposed.

She said the rise in gold exports in 2024 had led to the increase in the deficit.

Swiss newspaper Le Temps noted Tuesday that to calculate customs duties on Switzerland "the White House seems to have relied exclusively on 2024 data," which was "an atypical year".

Swiss gold exports to the United States skyrocketed in November, when Trump won the presidential election, triggering a surge in "safe haven" investments such as gold, it said.

F.Moura--PC