The Customs Border Protection agency said one-kilo and 100 ounce gold bars should be classified under a customs code subject to levies, according to a so-called ruling letter dated July 31, which was seen by the Financial Times. Ruling letters are used by the US to clarify its trade policy. The CBP’s decision stands in sharp contrast with the industry’s previous expectations that these types of gold bars should be classified using a different customs code that is exempt from Trump’s countrywide tariffs. Here are some interesting comments by EndGame Macro on X 👇 : 🔴 This 39% tariff on 1 kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars from Switzerland is a calculated move with immediate market consequences. The July 31 U.S. Customs ruling reclassified these bars, the exact formats COMEX accepts for delivery into a tariffed category. That’s critical because Switzerland is the world’s largest gold refining hub, and a substantial share of the physical gold that underpins COMEX futures flows from there. ‼️ Within hours of the news, premiums for New York gold futures jumped above the spot price, signaling that deliverable supply into the U.S. market had abruptly tightened. Swiss refiners have already slowed or halted shipments, further compounding the squeeze. 👉 At its core, this is about LEVERAGE and STRATEGIC POSITIONING. The U.S. is applying pressure on Switzerland while giving domestic refiners a direct pricing advantage in kilo and 100 ounce formats. That could lock in a higher New York futures premium even if global spot prices hold steady. By effectively capping imports of these bar types, the move raises the stakes for COMEX short sellers, whose ability to source bars for delivery just got more complicated. Alternative routes such as shipping 400 ounce bars to London for recasting in the U.S., or rerouting through non Swiss refineries will take time, limiting throughput in the interim. 👉 The longer game may be less about tariffs for revenue and more about WEAPONIONZING the gold market, creating a controlled squeeze in the very bar formats that drive global futures pricing. It pressures the Swiss refining system, reasserts New York as the central arena for price discovery, and ensures that if gold is going to play a larger role in the future global monetary system, it will do so on U.S. terms. In a year when gold is already up on macroeconomic concerns, a politically engineered choke point like this can actively shift where and how the world’s benchmark gold price is set. Source: FT, EndGame Macro