The United States has extended its 39 percent tariff on Swiss goods to cover imported one-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bars, according to a Customs and Border Protection ruling letter dated July 31 and reported by the Financial Times on 7 August. The reclassification places the popular bullion sizes under a customs code already subject to the steep levy, effectively raising the landed cost of Swiss-produced bars for American buyers. Switzerland refines roughly two-thirds of the world’s gold, and its kilobars are widely used to settle trades on New York’s Comex exchange. Market analysts warn the tariff could shift bullion flows, widen physical-to-futures price spreads and push US buyers toward bars minted in countries not subject to the duty. The FT said the measure “could upend the global bullion market,” though the immediate volume affected remains unclear. The move deepens trade friction between Washington and Bern. Earlier this year President Donald Trump imposed the 39 percent rate on a broad range of Swiss products, citing a US$48 billion trade deficit. Gold had previously been excluded, but the new classification closes that gap and adds to pressure on Swiss refiners, watchmakers and other exporters already facing higher costs in their largest overseas market.