Swiss Watch Exports Fell in November Before US Tariff Reprieve

Swiss watch exports fell for a fourth month as companies waited for the US agreement to ease punitive import tariffs to take effect.

Exports dropped 7.3% in November from a year earlier, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said Thursday, the most since August when President Donald Trump’s administration slapped a 39% levy on Switzerland’s products. Exports to the US, the industry’s biggest market, fell 52% last month.

Manufacturers of watches, machines and precision instruments were among sectors hit hardest by the US trade tariffs on Switzerland, according to the country’s central bank. A deal to reduce the ...