Swiss watch exports to the United States jumped 45% year-over-year in July, as manufacturers rushed to beat the 39% tariff on Swiss imports that took effect Aug. 7, according to statistics compiled by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH).
“This was a move to build up local stocks and provides little insight into the actual state of the market,” the group said in the report.
The surge in shipments to the U.S. caused overall Swiss watch exports to rise 6.9% in July year-over-year, to nearly 2.4 billion Swiss francs. Without the big jump in U.S. deliveries, overall Swiss exports would have sank 0.9%, FH said.
Key markets like Japan and China both saw declines in Swiss watch imports—down 10.1% and 6.5%, respectively, year-over-year. However, there were increases in exports to Singapore (up 14.8%) and Hong Kong (4.6%).
(Photo: Getty Images)
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