The latest EU sanctions adopted by Switzerland affect luxury goods, including the country’s fabled watch brands.
When people think of Swiss products, watches almost invariably come to mind. In fact, they are one of Switzerland’s largest exports, with 95 percent of production valued at 22.3 billion Swiss francs ($24.4 billion) going abroad, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, (FHS).
The EU sanctions stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine include a wide range of luxury goods, including watches. However, there is a minimum threshold of 300 euros, depending on the type of goods in question. In the case of watches, those made in Switzerland easily top that, sometimes running into hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs.
Serious Impact
«The ban on the export of luxury goods contained in the new sanctions affects only a small portion of Switzerland's global exports of such goods. However, specific companies could be seriously affected,» the Swiss Federal Government said in a statement Friday.
In 2021, Swiss watch exports to Russia totaled 260.1 million Swiss francs, according to FHS data, making Russia the 17th largest market for Swiss watches.
But with less than 2 percent of the total value going to Russia, the sanctions are likely to be more painful for Russian lovers of luxury watches than the overall Swiss watch industry.
