ZURICH (Reuters) – A Swiss National Bank paper on Tuesday urged caution in interpreting Switzerland’s foreign trade statistics, as greater global demand for the gold it refines has inflated its trade surplus with key partners like the United States.
Swiss officials were stunned last week when U.S. President Donald Trump imposed bigger import tariffs on the country than on the European Union or Britain as he set out his administration’s trade policy proposals.
Demand for the safe-haven precious metal during times of global uncertainty can impact Swiss foreign accounts data significantly, said the economic note by SNB economist Laurence Wicht, as Switzerland is a major gold refining and transit hub.
Hence, gold-driven shifts in Swiss external sector data should be studied carefully as they reflect global factors, not changes in Swiss economic fundamentals, it said.
“The conclusions of this note thus underscore the need for caution when interpreting Switzerland’s external sector statistics,” Wicht said in the six-page document, which did not mention the U.S. tariffs.
The Trump administration said it would set a 31% tariff on Switzerland versus 20% for the EU, figures calculated based on the U.S. deficit with other countries.
The document showed how deviations in bilateral net exports of gold had inflated the country’s trade surplus with the United States, which is now Switzerland’s single biggest export market.
Gold refineries in Switzerland supply about one-third of refined gold worldwide, and the country is also the fourth largest issuer of gold exchange-traded funds, the note said.
The imports and exports meant that in 2024, gold accounted for 27% of the value of goods traded for Switzerland, ahead of pharmaceutical products at 22%.
Gold, silver and platinum group metals were among products excluded from the U.S. tariffs.
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Friederike Heine and Bernadette Baum)
