39% U.S. Tariffs on Swiss Imports and the Impact on Luxury Watches

On August 1, 2025 “Swiss National Day” the Trump administration announced surprising import duties of 39% on Swiss exports to the U.S. These new tariffs took effect on August 7. The 39% tariffs are up from 10% charged before August 1, and even higher than the initial threat of 31% Tariffs first announced in April 2025.

What do the 39% Tariffs mean for US customers, importers, and exporters?

The U.S. importer is responsible for paying the new tariffs (also referred to as duties):

- When goods arrive in the U.S. from Switzerland, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) assesses the duties.
- These duties must be paid by the U.S. importer of record — the company or individual receiving the goods in the U.S.
- The Swiss exporter is not directly liable for these U.S. import duties.

Theoretical impact on retail prices if passed on to consumers 

The pictured Rolex Daytona Ref. 126508 has a retail price of $48,400 in the U.S. market today. With an est. 37% retail margin, the import price is $30,500 (a lower retail margin would have an even larger impact).

An additional 39% duty would raise the import price to $42,400. Maintaining the same margin would require raising the retail price to $60,300, an increase of $11,900, or 25%. Maintaining the same margin of 37% would require raising the retail price to $67,300.

Higher retail prices and lower margins

1️⃣ However, it is unlikely that the full amount of duties will be passed on to the U.S. retail customer.
2️⃣ The Swiss exporter could lower the price, reducing their own margin.
3️⃣ The US importer could lower their margin and raise the retail price to only the $50k range.

It remains to be seen how customers, U.S. retailer and Swiss exporters will respond to the new 39% tariff.

It is certainly not an advantage to any party involved and Switzerland is surely working towards a solution to this unsustainable high tariff situation.

Prices for pre-owned watches will increase 

If retail prices increase and supply of new and pre-owned watches is constrained it will likely cause a price increase not just for new watches but also for pre-owned watches. Pre-owned watches that are within the U.S. market already will be sold quicker in anticipation of rising prices. While it appears logic that U.S. customers will now travel to Europe or Switzerland to buy a new Rolex watch we don’t foresee this to happen at large numbers.

Mainly because watch prices in the U.S. are today cheaper than in Europe and Switzerland due to the drop in value of the US Dollar vs the Euro and the even stronger Swiss Franc.

The Rolex Daytona pictured above has a retail price of CHF 44,800. This translates into CHF 55,000 at an exchange rate of 0.81 USD per CHF. This is 14% more than in the U.S..

We assume that U.S. retailer and Swiss brands will first close this gap before they raise prices across the globe to compensate for lower margins in the U.S.

The U.S. market is the largest export market for Swiss watches

The situation is especially critical considering that the U.S. market is the single largest export market for Swiss luxury watches. Exports reached an all-time high of CHF 2.57 billion in the first half of 2025. This is up 20% from 2024. The U.S. market cannot easily be compensated for by other markets.

We remain confident that the U.S. administration is willing to find a solution together with Switzerland for an improved trade agreement that will result in lower tariffs going forward.