Rolex and Swiss Watchmakers Have Been Hit With a 39% U.S. Tariff

In the U.S.’s latest flurry of tariff announcements ahead of an August 1 deadline, Switzerland got the short end of the stick.

On Friday, President Trump set a 39 percent levy on goods from the European nation, one of the highest tariffs yet to be doled out by the American government. That means everything from Rolexes (and a plethora of other Swiss watch brands) to chocolate will be slapped with a tariff before it enters the U.S. The levy is set to go into effect on August 7, The New York Times reported.

Switzerland’s President Karin Keller-Sutter says she talked to Trump this past Thursday, but the two could not come to a trade agreement, according to the publication. The leader adds that she will continue to work toward a deal before next week’s deadline. Guy Parmelin, the nation’s economy minister, says Switzerland has been “especially mistreated,” NYT reported.

The new tariff spells out trouble for the Swiss watch industry. Previously, Trump had said he would place a 31 percent tax on the nation in April, which caused Swiss watch imports to spike 18 percent when compared to figures from 2024. That month, over 1.3 million timepieces left the European country, totaling $3 billion (2.5 billion Swiss francs). Even pre-owned timepieces saw their sales spike by 160 percent last April. Now, Swiss timepieces and goods from the nation in general will cost more upon their arrival on U.S. soil.

In the wake of the latest tariff news, some changes can already be seen: Watches of Switzerland saw its shares drop by more than 7 percent on Friday to their lowest level in years. Barclays analysts said the new levy on Switzerland would cause a “significant headwind for the company,” according to The New York Times.

In comparison to the Swiss tariffs, other countries have fewer imposing figures. Britian reached a 10 percent tariff deal with the U.S., while the E.U. at large just settled on a 15 percent levy for its countries this week. As for if the Swiss government and the U.S. can reach a trade deal by next week’s time, that remains to be seen.

This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.