Gold bars to be exempt from tariffs, White House clarifies
Investing.com - Gold prices advanced on Tuesday as investor appetite for the yellow metal’s safe-haven reputation was bolstered by the imposition of new tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.
By 07:08 ET (12:08 GMT), spot gold had risen by 1.0% to $2,920.81 an ounce, extending a streak of gains into a second straight session. Gold futures climbed by 1.1% to $2,931.49.
Bullion has jumped by roughly 10% so far this year. Gold even touched an all-time peak of $2,956.15 on February 24, although analysts at UBS noted that the metal faltered somewhat heading into the end of month, due in part to profit-taking and "well-telegraphed" issues in the U.S. and UK around the availability of gold bars.
Tariffs in focus
Trump’s tariffs on items from Canada, Mexico and China came into effect just after midnight Eastern time on Tuesday.
The levies, which include a 25% fee on all imports incoming from Mexico and non-energy goods from Canada, were "all set" to go ahead, Trump said on Monday. A 10% surcharge will be collected on Canadian energy as well.
China was also hit by a 10% import duty, on top of an earlier 10% trade tax put into effect in February.
America’s southern and northern neighbors had earlier raced to appease Trump’s call for increased border security to help stem the flow of the illegal drug fentanyl and migrants into the U.S. Concessions offered in February led to a month-long postponement of the duties.
However, Trump said the countries had still not done enough to address his demands, adding that there was "no room left" for a deal to be secured. China had also not taken "adequate steps to alleviate the illicit drug crisis," Trump said.
Economists and company executives have long argued that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico -- which make up $900 billion in annual U.S. imports -- threaten to upend a deeply-integrated North American economy. Along with China, Canada and Mexico account for more than 40% of total U.S. imports.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa would respond to Trump’s tariffs by introducing its own 25% levy on roughly $20 billion in U.S. goods, after previously saying the measures would target specific items like American beer, bourbon, wine, orange juice and home appliances.
Should the U.S. levies remain in place for 21 days, another duty on about $86 billion on American goods would be implemented, Trudeau said.
"Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship,” Trudeau said, adding that Americans will end up paying more for items like groceries and gas because of them.
Mexican leader Claudia Sheinbaum has said the country has a "plan B, C, D" to respond to the tariffs, although no moves were immediately announced.
Meanwhile, China has said it would roll out additional 10%-15% tariffs on certain U.S. imports from March 10, calling Trump’s levies "unreasonable and groundless."
(Ayushman Ojha contributed reporting.)