The Trump Tariffs Make It Cheaper to Fly to Switzerland Than Buy Online

If you’re hunting for a Christopher Ward, Omega, or just about anything else made in Switzerland, brace yourself — you’ll now pay at least a 39% premium before that watch lands on your wrist.

The so-called “Trump Tariffs,” pitched as a way to punish countries that levy duties on U.S. goods, are in practice a direct tax on American consumers. As an example, Christopher Ward’s checkout page now lists a $2,161 customs duty on a $4,000 watch shipped from the UK. In this case, the tariff amounts to about 44% of the purchase price. That’s before you factor in shipping, insurance, or sales tax. The math is brutal: you’re paying more than a third of the watch’s value in extra government-imposed costs, and it’s you — not the manufacturer — who foots the bill.

The impact isn’t just hitting your wallet. Switzerland’s watchmaking economy is feeling the pressure. As reported by Monochrome, in Neuchâtel alone — a canton where much of the industrial base revolves around horology — over 32,000 full-time equivalent jobs are tied to watchmaking, all now directly affected by the tariffs. Across the Jura Arc, from Geneva to Schaffhausen, the story is the same: core watchmaking regions bracing for slower orders, rising unemployment, and potential factory slowdowns.

Local governments are already preparing emergency measures. Cantonal leaders are calling for an extension of the short-time work (RHT) scheme, which lets companies temporarily reduce hours or suspend production without cutting jobs. It’s a safety net designed for downturns, now being dusted off for a political trade war.

The result? Fewer U.S. sales, reduced output in Swiss workshops, and consumers thinking twice before pulling the trigger on that new timepiece. For collectors, this might be the moment to focus on pre-owned or domestic options — unless you’re ready to pay the “tariff tax” for the sake of owning something fresh from Switzerland. Or, barring that, you’re willing to take a trip to Zurich and sneak your new watch through customs which, we’ve been told, is now eying U.S. citizen’s purchases with even more interest.

As one watchmaker said: "They wanted and elected Trump. Now let American customers pay!"