Switzerland says U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods could be reduced from 39% to 15% by early December, offering significant relief to the Swiss watch industry as exports to the United States continue to collapse. The tariff reduction was agreed last week, but neither government has stated when it will formally take effect.
“In Switzerland, we are ready,” said Guy Parmelin, head of the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, in comments to local broadcaster SRF quoted by Reuters. “It takes a bit more time for the USA. I hope everything is fine by early December, but we are pushing.”
Swiss watch exports have fallen sharply since the 39% tariff was introduced in early August. According to data from industry association FH, shipments to the United States dropped 46.8% year-over-year in October after plunging 56% in September.
Industry leaders said they expect the tariff reduction to help stabilize the market. “It’s going back to some sanity and a manageable tariff,” Audemars Piguet CEO Ilaria Resta said during a CEO Roundtable at Dubai Watch Week.
Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele credited lobbying efforts by Swiss watch executives for helping to break the impasse. “The reason why this intervention at the White House worked was that it was a personal intervention and it was at the right level with the right people, and it created the right response,” he said.
Several Swiss executives, including Rolex CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour, met President Trump at the White House on November 4. The meeting drew controversy after the executives gave the president gifts.
Parmelin stressed in the SRF interview that the negotiations were handled by the Swiss government and that industry leaders provided data rather than political leverage. He also told a local newspaper that the agreement includes references to Swiss investments in the United States, but said these projects were already planned.
“Swiss companies have simply told us their investment intentions that they want to make in the U.S. in the coming years,” he said. “There is also no obligation for Switzerland or the companies to make these investments.”
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