Swiss watchmakers can now breathe a little easier.
In a relief to the nation’s timepiece producers, as well as other industries, Switzerland will now only face a 15 percent tariff from the U.S. That marks a major step down from the whopping 39 percent levy President Trump placed on Swiss goods earlier this year. The European country announced that it came to the agreement with the U.S. on Friday, The New York Times reported.
The accord follows a meeting between American and Swiss officials on Thursday, as well as Swiss executives’ Oval Office drop-in with Trump last week. The group included those in charge of Rolex and Richemont, according to the publication. Officials from the Land of Milk and Honey have been attempting to get the tariff, devastating to the Swiss economy, lowered since it was first announced. Now, though, the 15 percent levy is equal to the one placed on goods from the European Union.
The Swiss tariff debacle has been quite the intense tango in 2025. The U.S. government smacked Switzerland with a 39 percent tariff back in August, after previously announcing a 31 percent levy earlier in the year. The figure was one of the highest levies to be placed on any country by the U.S.; Trump officials said the number was derived from a trade deficit between the U.S. and Switzerland. The figure was also one that sent the Swiss watch world into a tizzy. “The dollar is weak, the Swiss franc is high, and gold is at an all-time high so it’s kind of like the perfect storm,” Steven Holtzman, vice chairman at CD Peacock in Chicago, told Robb Report in an interview at the time. The effects were strong and swift once the levies went into effect: Swiss watch exports to the U.S. plummeted by 56 percent in September, according to a report published by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. America also was replaced by the U.K. as Switzerland’s top watch market in the same month.
Of course, other Swiss manufactures would have been affected by the high tariff, too, such as its drug, dairy, and gold industries. The new deal forged between Switzerland and the U.S. also means that the European nation will find new manufacturing spots for pharmaceuticals, gold, and other goods in America, U.S. trade rep Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Friday. As for the Swiss watch market’s reaction to the agreement, we’ll have to wait and see.
