Mixed blessings, a reason to be cheerful… however optimistically you choose to ride the calm before the storm – in other words, the inevitable kick-backs from President Trump’s hugely hiked tariffs on Swiss imports (August 1st’s 39% announcement was the highest of all developed countries) the Federation of the Swiss Industry (FH) has reported on July’s global exports – and they show a rally, more so than any other Helvetian product.
Swiss watch exports returned to growth in July, boosted by the uncertainties surrounding US tariffs. Exports increased by 6.9% year-on-year, to almost 2.4 billion francs. However, excluding the impact of exports to the United States, they would have decreased by 0.9%.
Watches made from precious metals (+5.3%), steel (+9.1%) and bimetallic models (+16.9%) were the main drivers of export value. Volumes remained stable (+0.3%) within this exceptional situation, with over 1.4 million items shipped internationally. Steel (+12.0%) and bimetallic watches (+24.6%) produced strong growth, while those made from precious metals (+0.0%) and other metals (+1.6%) maintained their volumes. Conversely, watches made from other materials fell sharply (-23.1%).
Watches with an export price between 200 and 500 francs (+7.3%) and those above 3,000 francs (+9.4%) recorded steady growth, while the category of watches priced below 200 francs (export price) shrank by 1.9%.
Swiss watch exports to the United States (luxury watchmaking’s biggest market by some margin) jumped by 45.0% in anticipation of high US tariffs. In reality, this was a move to build up local stocks and admittedly shines little light on the actual state of the market – let alone what’s to come.
Japan, meanwhile, fell significantly (-10.1%), followed by China (-6.5%), which returned to negative territory. Hong Kong (+4.6%) and Singapore (+14.8%) made notable headway, while the United Kingdom remained stable (+0.2%).
More than pharma or micro-tech, it’s watches, however, that remain Switzerland’s strongest export compared to anything else leaving the European nation, so from a horological POV, it seems Trump’s 39% is at least likely to hit the least hard on that front.
Source: www.fhs.ch