One of Australia’s largest exports to the US escapes tariff hit
US President Donald Trump has vowed to keep gold exempt from his tariffs after confusion that one of Australia’s largest exports to the United States could be taxed after a letter from the State Department that spooked traders.
But Trump reaffirmed the exemption on Tuesday (AEST) on his platform Truth Social after a federal ruling from US Customs and Border Protection caused chaos and confusion in global bullion markets.
US President Donald Trump announced gold would be exempt from tariffs.Credit: AP
“Gold will not be Tariffed!” Trump posted.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released in June, showed the country had exported more than $11 billion worth of non-monetary gold to the US in the the first four months of the year, making it Australia’s largest export to the US so far this year and well above the $2.95 billion exported for the entirety of 2024.
There was a spike at the start of the year as gold exports from Australia to the United States soared on concerns among US investors about Trump’s trade policies, and as investors flocked to the metal as a haven from global turmoil.
So large were our exports that Australia ran a trade surplus with the US for the first time since Harry Truman was president.
The trade surplus with the US has come to an end, but Australia is still exporting record amounts of gold to the rest of the world. In 2024-25, the country exported a record $46.9 billion worth of the metal, a 42.4 per cent lift on 2023-24 and almost double the value of gold exports in 2022-23.
By contrast, the nation’s single large export – iron ore – slid by 15.5 per cent last financial year to $116.5 billion.
A White House official suggested last week the administration would issue a policy clarifying whether gold bars would face import taxes, after US Customs and Border Protection stunned traders by deciding the imports would be subject to duties.
The ruling determined that one-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bars would be subject to Trump’s country-based tariffs that took effect on August 7.
The move came in the form of a letter that was issued to a Swiss refiner inquiring about gold’s treatment, then posted publicly on the agency’s website.
Gold bullion is typically treated more as a financial instrument than a physical product, and slapping tariffs on it would have had such profound consequences that many traders argued the ruling had to be a mistake.
If gold were taxed, it would have major implications for bullion around the world. Gold’s role as a financial asset and global currency sets it apart from other commodities, such as copper, which have been roiled by tariffs.
Most other Australian exports to the United States are subject to a 10 per cent tariff.
The Albanese government ended a de facto ban on US beef entering Australia last month, which was one of the Trump administration’s key trade complaints. It insisted the move was unrelated to trade talks.
Health Minister Mark Butler is also planning to speed up medicine approvals, which US drugmakers have demanded, as Trump threatens up to 250 per cent tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
With Shane Wright, Bloomberg
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