Customs chaos causes Swiss watch exports to explode

Customs chaos causes Swiss watch exports to explode

One could have guessed. When it was announced in early April that the US President would impose a 31 percent tariff on all products imported from Switzerland, frantic shipments and transport flights of Swiss watches to the United States apparently began. Restocking stocks—and quickly—seems to be the order of the day.

How Trump's tariff story will end is not certain – it is on hold until July 9. Swiss watch manufacturers are taking advantage of this respite.

There is no other explanation for the explosive increase in watch exports to the US market in April. Exports in value terms increased by almost 150 percent to just under CHF 852 million compared to April of the previous year and by 180 percent compared to April 2023.

Watches exported to the USA accounted for a whopping 33 percent of total exports in April 2025. In the first three months of this year, they were between 17 and 19 percent.

Total exports of the Swiss watch industry amounted to just over CHF 2.5 billion in value in April 2025. This represents an increase of 18.2 percent compared to the same month last year (volume +6.4% yoy).

However, if one excludes the current April US exports and compares this with the April value of last year, which has also been reduced by the US exports, the result is a slight decrease of around CHF 100 million (-6%).

In terms of volume, excluding the special effect of deliveries to the USA, exports fell by 5.7 percent.

With all of this in mind, it's important to remember that exporting to the US isn't the same as selling to US consumers. That's the true measure of successful sell-through.

The strong increase in exports to the USA “is therefore more an expression of a one-off reaction to the uncertain economic situation than a real sign of a structural strengthening of demand,” commented the Swiss Watch Industry Association.

Mid-price segment struggles

The main growth drivers were precious metal watches (+23.4 %), steel watches (+13.8 %), and bimetallic watches (+44.5 %). The volume increase was primarily driven by steel watches, with exports increasing by 18.9 %). In contrast, there was a sharp decline (-19.1 %) in models made of other materials.

Watches with an export price above CHF 3,000 (export price) led the way with value growth of 22.9 percent. The CHF 200 to 500 segment, in contrast, recorded a decline of 1.2 percent. Watches with an export price between CHF 500 and 3,000 increased by 5.2 percent. Value growth below CHF 200 was 10.4 percent.

China and Hong Kong continue to fall

The development of exports in value terms to the main markets showed a mixed picture, apart from the exceptional development in the USA.

Japan (+1.9 yen) and the United Kingdom (+1.6 yen) recorded moderate growth, while Singapore (-9.2 yen) experienced a sharp decline. China (-30.5 yen) and Hong Kong (-22.8 yen) continued their downward trend, thus exacerbating the slowdown in both markets.

Exports to Germany fell by 14.6 percent.