On Friday, gold futures hit an all-time intraday high of $3,534. This increase came right on the heels of the United States’ decision to implement a massive 39% tariff on gold bars coming from Switzerland. This decision has a major effect across most of the gold industry. It paints a very troubling picture for the economic feasibility of Swiss gold exports to the U.S., which have formed the bedrock of Switzerland’s trade surplus.
Switzerland dominates the global gold market, accounting for approximately 70% of the trade in turning gold mined from various sources into bars. The country brings in about 2,000 tonnes of gold annually. Much of this gold is supplied by intermediary banks located in key financial centers, such as London and New York. Switzerland’s economy depends on the value added by a constant inflow of gold. In that twelve-month period, the country exported nearly $61.5 billion in gold to the U.S.—second-most of any nation.
The imposition of retaliatory tariffs has similarly angered Swiss officials, who are the business-friendly environment their country has fostered. So grave were the economic considerations that Christoph Wild — then Switzerland’s president — felt compelled to concern himself with the economic consequences of these tariffs. He stated, “We are particularly concerned about the implications of the tariffs for the gold industry and the physical exchange of gold with the US, a long-standing and historical partner for Switzerland.”
According to 2023 U.S. Census data, gold exports from Switzerland to the U.S. have skyrocketed in recent months. With uncertainty still in the air about the new tariffs and escalating geopolitical calamities, investors began to flock toward gold as a safe haven investment. Intensified export engagement almost certainly factored into former President Trump’s decision. To counter this trend, he imposed a high, blanket countervailing duty tariff on all Swiss imports.
In the first three months of 2025, Switzerland exported an unprecedented amount of bullion, $36.9 billion. This figure accounted for over two-thirds of the nation’s global trade surplus with the U.S. The Swiss precious metals association noted that these exceptional circumstances were largely a reaction to the impending tariffs and the overall geopolitical climate.
This week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a significant clarification. Both these types of gold bars—those used to settle gold Commodity Exchange contracts and those sold directly to jewelers or industrial gold consumers—will now be subject to the new tariff rate. Today’s decision expands the variety of imported gold bars that will be subject to a 39% tariff. As a result, the complications now faced by Swiss exporters have become much more convoluted.
Christoph Wild pursued these exciting opportunities full steam and with stubborn determination to Washington. Until his death in 2022, he fought zealously for the tariff rate to be reevaluated. All attempts to negotiate them down have been unsuccessful. Now these heavy tariffs are still in force, posing serious economic challenges to Switzerland’s strong gold processing sector.
The Swiss precious metals association acknowledged the short-term impacts that tariffs have created on trade balances, indicating that this situation arises from “the short-term impact that gold has had on the trade balance at the beginning of 2025,” which they describe as an exceptional reaction by U.S. markets to both tariff uncertainties and broader global conditions.