US President Donald Trump on Monday said gold imports will not be subject to additional tariffs, seeking to end days of uncertainty over whether recent duty hikes applied to certain gold bars – a development that had threatened to disrupt global trade in the precious metal.
“Gold will not be Tariffed!” Trump announced on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating further.
Trump: gold will not be tariffed pic.twitter.com/qVDGiJVlUN
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 11, 2025
The statement came after US customs authorities released a letter indicating that gold bars in two standard weights—one kilogram and 100 ounces (2.8 kilograms)—should be classified as subject to duties.
Customs Letter Sparks Gold Price Surge
The letter, dated July 31 and made public last week, was first reported by the Financial Times. Its release drove gold prices on the US futures market to record highs.
One-kilo bars are the most commonly traded form on Comex, the world’s largest futures market, and account for the bulk of Switzerland’s bullion exports to the United States, the newspaper reported.
The US customs ruling – normally used to clarify trade classifications – came as a surprise amid expectations that gold bars would fall under a separate customs code exempting them from Trump’s nationwide “reciprocal” tariffs. These tariffs affect goods from dozens of economies, including Switzerland, which faces a 39% levy.
Gold Bar Tariffs
A White House official told Agence France-Presse on Friday that the administration plans to “issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other speciality products.”
While the exact content of the executive order remains unknown, Trump’s post was explicitly introduced as “A Statement from Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America,” and stated clearly: “Gold will not be Tariffed!”
Gold Reaches All-Time High on Comex
On Friday, gold for December delivery reached an all-time high on Comex. The surge was fueled by concerns that gold imports might be affected by the tariff policy.
“In the early hours of trading [on Friday], global markets were shaken by the announcement by the Trump administration of a 39% tariff on imported gold bars weighing 100 ounces or more. U.S. December gold futures reached an all-time high price of $3,534.10 per ounce shortly after the declaration was made,” Peter C. Earle, director of the American Institute for Economic Research, wrote in a dispatch for the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee.
However, following statements from the White House suggesting that tariffs would not apply, prices began to ease.
Also Read: Donald Trump’s Tariff Extension Saves U.S.-China Trade — But For How Long?
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
