ZURICH: Stiff US tariffs on Switzerland badly hurt the Alpine country’s exports in the third quarter, official figures showed Tuesday, with Swiss watchmakers in particular suffering.
Overall exports slipped 3.9 percent between the beginning of July and end-September, the federal customs service said — but the plummet in the value of goods dispatched to the United States was dramatic.
Swiss exports to the US for the quarter dropped 8.2 percent, as the country grappled with 39-percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which came into effect in August.
Watch exports to America more than halved in September, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said.
The 56-percent slash in sales to the US more than wiped out big export increases to several Asian markets, such as China and South Korea, it said.
The slide came on top of a 24-percent decline in watch exports to the US recorded in August, it said.
“Swiss watch export data continues to be heavily influenced by US tariffs,” said analysts at the financial information group Jefferies.
It said that export data to regions other than the United States, particularly to China, “paint a much stronger underlying picture” for the sector.
Overall Swiss exports for the quarter amounted to $84 billion, which was 3.9 percent less than for the second quarter, according to the customs service.
Switzerland also saw exports decline of 5.9 percent to the European Union. The country is not an EU member but participates in the EU’s single market.
Exports to Asia also fell 3.3 percent, essentially from a drop in exports to China.
The customs service said that overall exports from the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical sectors fell 7.2 percent.
It added that watch exports declined 3.7 percent.
Swiss exports have been on a rollercoaster this year.
First-quarter exports soared as orders for Swiss pharmaceuticals jumped in the US, where American importers were rushing to get ahead of Trump’s tariffs.
Uncertainty marked the second quarter, with the Swiss watch sector notably having a bumper US export period in April.
Watch orders to the US swelled again in July — the month Trump unveiled his surprise tariffs on Swiss goods, as American firms built up stocks before they took effect.
The 39-percent levy Trump is imposing on Switzerland is far higher than the 15-percent tariff the US is applying to goods from the European Union, following a deal with Brussels struck in August.
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