Swiss watch exports fell in November ahead of US tariff suspension

Swiss watch exports fell for the fourth straight month as companies waited for the US deal to ease punitive tariffs on imports to take effect.

Exports fell 7.3% in November from a year earlier, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Thursday, the biggest drop since August, when President Donald Trump's administration imposed a 39% tax on Swiss products. Exports to the United States, the industry's largest market, fell 52% last month.

Manufacturers of watches, machines and precision instruments are among the sectors most affected by U.S. trade tariffs on Switzerland, according to the country's central bank. An agreement was finally reached on November 14 to reduce the tax to 15%, but companies only learned in December that the lower tariffs would be retroactive to the day the agreement was announced.

Exports are likely to recover in the coming months as the tariff deal reassures businesses, Citigroup analyst Thomas Chauvet said in a note.

Still, total exports from Switzerland to the United States increased in November, underscoring the difficult context facing the watch sector. The 15% import tax remains higher than the 2% companies faced before Trump's trade measures.

Shares in Richemont and Swatch Group AG fell in early trading in Zurich. Overall, exports decreased in almost all price bands and in all materials, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said.

Exports to Japan fell, while the outlook also turned negative in China after two months of growth. This is dampening hopes of a recovery in luxury demand in the country, especially given the slow growth in recent retail sales.

“The luxury watch sector enters 2026 with mixed fundamentals,” Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy said in a note. Comparisons with Asia will soften, he said, “but the United States remains unpredictable and discretionary spending in Europe is showing fatigue.”