Tariffs Prompt Surge in Swiss Watch Exports to US

Exports of Swiss watches in July rebounded, up 6.9 per cent to CHF 2.4bn (USD 2.98bn) after two months of decline.

The growth was largely driven by front-loading of shipments ahead of 39 per cent US tariffs.

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry Exports (FHS) acknowledged that without the tariff-related increase in US sales, overall exports for the month would have fallen by 0.9 per cent.

“In reality, this was a move to build up local stocks and provides little insight into the actual state of the market,” it said.

The US started charging a 39 per cent tariff on all Swiss watch imports, as of 7 August. Manufacturers responded by building up their US stocks ahead of that deadline as a short-term fix.

Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek told Reuters: “We shipped much more product to the United States, so this means there is not an immediate impact on us.”

Sales to China were down 6.5 per cent after a 6.1 per cent increase in June. And Hong Kong was up 4.6 per cent after a 10.6 per cent drop in June.

Source: IDEX