Gold exporters wait, the metal may not be taxed
Keystone-SDA
Gold exports to the United States may not be taxed after all. The White House plans to issue an executive order in the near future to clarify misinformation about the taxation of gold bullion, in particular.
This announcement of a future clarification decree, transmitted on Friday by news agency AFP, follows information from US customs that caused panic among specialists and on the markets. A customs document dated July 31 that was made public on Friday indicated that one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars would be subject to customs duties. This was in fact “false information”, Bloomberg later reported, based on a statement by an official who requested anonymity.
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The White House plans to issue an executive order shortly to clarify matters. In the meantime, fears that gold might be taxed sent the price of the precious metal soaring on Friday evening to a new record of $3,534.10 an ounce (31.1 grams), before falling back to $3,461.40 at around 8pm, after the clarification.
For Switzerland, a major gold refining centre, a tax on gold would represent a further blow after Switzerland was hit on Thursday with heavy tariffs of 39% on its products entering the United States.
Until now, investors have always taken it for granted that gold was exempt, along with pharmaceutical products, which are under threat of a separate tariff.
Traders hold their breath
The Swiss Association of Manufacturers and Traders in Precious Metals (ASFCMP) expressed its concern on Friday about the possibility of taxation. A tax on gold “would make its export to the United States economically unviable”.
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Now the association holds the view that precious metals remelted by Swiss refineries and exported to the United States could be shipped duty-free. ASFCMP added that the customs classification of the various gold products was not always precise.
The association is in discussions with the Swiss authorities, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the World Gold Council (WGC) and key American bodies. It also points out that the sector does not depend solely on the important US market.
Speaking to the media in Bern on Friday, Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said that Switzerland had been the victim of bad timing when it came to calculating its trade surplus of almost $40 billion with the United States, which had prompted Donald Trump to set a customs surcharge of 39%. The calculation was based on figures for 2024, a year in which Swiss gold exports to the United States were particularly strong due to demand boosted by expectations of a tax.
Adapted from French by DeepL/ac
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