President Trump on Monday said gold bars will not face tariffs – leading to relief from global bullion markets after days of speculation that the precious metal could be caught up in the ongoing global trade war.
“Gold will not be Tariffed!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social Monday.
US spot gold – the global benchmark – fell 1.2% to $3,357 an ounce following Trump’s comment, while gold futures dropped 2.4% to $3,407 after soaring to a record-high above $3,500 last week.
“Delighted to hear the crisis has been averted,” Ross Norman, an independent gold market analyst, said Monday.
“It will come as an enormous relief to the bullion markets, as the potential for disruption was incalculable.”
A White House official told The Post that Trump plans to issue an executive order “in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars.”
Spooked by Trump’s tariffs, investors have flocked to the safe haven asset, pushing it past $3,000 an ounce for the first time ever earlier this year.
On Friday, US Customs and Border Protection ruled that 1-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bars from Switzerland would be subject to Trump’s 39% tariff on the country.
“Although Trump has used tariffs extensively, tariffs on gold could have significantly disrupted global supply chains and led to higher prices for the metal overall,” Ted Jenkin, president of Exit Stage Left Advisors, told The Post.
“Gold is a strategic asset and maintaining its tariff-free status preserves its role as a hedge against geopolitical instability.”
While a US gold tariff would have been especially harmful for Switzerland, which is a major refining hub for the precious metal, it would have applied to any country exporting gold bars to the US, according to the Swiss Precious Metal Association.
The group warned on Friday that the customs ruling “may negatively impact the international flow of physical gold.”
Shares of Barrick Mining fell 2.8% Monday, while shares of Newmont – the world’s largest gold miner – were down slightly to $68.87. Both companies are major US gold producers.
Trump last week imposed a batch of new reciprocal tariffs – many at higher-than-expected rates – on dozens of nations.
With Post wires
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