GENEVA, May 27. /TASS/. Shipments of Swiss watches to the United States skyrocketed by 149% in April amid an overall decline of exports from Switzerland in response to US tariffs, the Federation of the Switch Watch Industry (FH) said in its report.
"Swiss watch exports recorded growth of 18.2% in April, to reach a total of 2.5 billion francs [about $3 bln - TASS]. Cumulative growth for the first four months of the year was therefore 4.0%. The monthly performance was largely driven by an exceptional increase in exports to the United States, which were up by 149.2%," the federation said.
"This was mainly the result of early shipments, motivated by the increase in US customs duties. The sharp rise in exports is therefore more a reflection of a one-off response to an uncertain commercial situation than a genuine sign of a structural strengthening of demand," FH noted.
At the same time, according to the Swiss Federal Customs and Border Security (FOCBS), total exports from Switzerland contracted by 9.2% in April. The decline in exports to the US was the strongest, down 34.7%. Exports of pharmaceuticals suffered the steepest dip and plunged by 43.9%.
US President Donald Trump announced customs tariffs for 185 countries and territories on April 2. Individual tariffs for Switzerland were set at 31%.