Worn & Wound
The Watch Industry Reacts to Tariffs on Swiss Imports to the United States
Last week, midway through the watch industry’s biggest trade show, Donald Trump announced 31% tariffs on Swiss imports. The proposed tariffs, enacted as of this morning, immediately became the focus of many discussions in Geneva between brands, retailers, and the press, at Palexpo and beyond. The United States is the largest importer of Swiss watches in the world, so a new tariff of 31% on Swiss imports to the US has the potential to reshape not just the watch market in the United States, but the industry as a whole. The announcement could not have come at a more pressure packed time. The entire watch industry – retailers, brands, manufacturing partners, collectors, and executives – was gathered in Geneva last week, doing the business that normally shapes the arc of the year. As the news was absorbed on Thursday, we witnessed brands and retailers reacting in real time, changing or solidifying plans as appropriate. The inescapable nature of the topic in meetings meant to showcase new products underscored the seriousness of Trump’s announcement, and the potential implications. In seeking to understand the ramifications of the planned tariffs, we sought out an economist to help firm up our understanding of what the administration is seeking to accomplish. Brendan Cunningham is a professor of economics at Eastern Connecticut State University, and the author of Horolonomics, a website dedicated to “economic complications in watchmaking.” We started by defining o...
