Aug. 8 (UPI) — The price of U.S. gold futures spiked on Friday, a day after Switzerland was hit with 39% American tariffs on its goods, including 1-kilogram gold bullion bars.
Gold on the COMEX, the world’s largest market for gold futures, eclipsed $3,530 on Friday, a 52-week high.
The metal was up $8.10 or 0.23% to $3,461 as of 2 p.m. EDT.
President Donald Trump last month confirmed he would move ahead with his reciprocal tariff policy for countries that had not reached a trade deal with the United States, meaning a 39% duty on Switzerland. Those levies took effect Thursday.
A ruling on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website confirms the tariffs extend to the gold bars refined in Switzerland. Some analysts had hoped for an exemption. The ruling applies to both the 1-kg and 100-ounce gold bars.
“Both types of bars are used primarily to back contracts on the Commodity Exchange (Comex), but are also sold to jewelers or industrial consumers for manufacturing purposes,” reads the CBP ruling, which came after a New York firm requested clarification on the matter ahead of the tariffs taking effect.
“The back of each bar is lasered with a QR code that serves as a certificate of authenticity, the production date, and a serial number.”
Switzerland is the world’s leading gold refining nation. The country exported more than $36 billion of gold to the United States during the first quarter, making around two-thirds of Switzerland’s American trade surplus.
Swiss Confederation President Karin Keller-Sutter visited Washington this week in an attempt to reach a last-minute deal to avoid the tariffs.
“The Federal Council acknowledged the application of additional tariffs of 39 percent on goods imported from Switzerland into the United States. It remains firmly committed to continuing talks with the United States to achieve a reduction of these additional tariffs on Swiss goods as quickly as possible,” Keller-Sutter said in a statement Thursday.
“To this end, it remains in contact with the American authorities and the affected economic sectors. It will also shortly hold in-depth discussions on possible relief for companies and continuously review the need for further economic policy action.”