Victorinox, the emblematic manufacturer of the Swiss knife, studies the possibility of transferring part of its production to the United States to reduce the impact of customs duties on its activities, said the director general of the company, Carl Elsener, to the German economic magazine Economic week.
“We plan to carry out certain individual stages of treatment at the end of the value chain, such as final cleaning and the packaging of professional knives on site,” said Carl Elsener in an interview published on Tuesday.
“This would reduce the value of the goods to which we have to pay customs duties by 10 % to 15 %,” he added.
Switzerland was particularly affected by Washington’s trade policy under the chairmanship of Donald Trump, who noted American customs duties earlier this month on 39 %Swiss imports.
The United States is a key market for Swiss machines, watches and chocolates.
Victorinox, which manufactures both professional knives and its famous pocket knives, achieves around 13 % of its turnover in the country.
Elsener told Economic week That these customs duties occurred at an already difficult time: “The strong Swiss franc exerts considerable pressure on our competitiveness and our margins,” he said.
However, high stocks in the United States mean that new customs duties should not affect Victorinox before the start of next year, he said. For the moment, the company prefers to wait and observe the evolution of the situation.
The economic uncertainty caused by the commercial policy of Donald Trump has strengthened the demand for the Swiss franc, a refuge value, which has increased the currency and adds Swiss products abroad.
