After the American customs sanctions, the chocolatier entrepreneur Daniel Bloch places his hopes in the state.Image: Severin Bigler / Imago, montage watson
Customs duties imposed by Trump strike Camille Bloch strongly. The boss must make a decision fraught with consequences this week. In this interview, he explains why.
20.08.2025, 05:4020.08.2025, 05:40
Florence Vuichard / ch media
Camille Bloch is mainly Ragusa, here. But in the USA, it is above all the Torino brand, consecrated and a kosher certified, which is exported. A very specialized segment, insists Daniel Bloch, now threatened by customs duties of 39% of Donald Trump.
Have you anticipated and refueled in the United States before 39% customs duties come into force?
Daniel Bloch: In June, during my stay with our American importer, I encouraged him to order a maximum. He did it. Result: our stock in Switzerland for Kasher chocolates in spring production is emptied.
Do you breathe a little and wait for the situation to stabilize on the customs side?
No. It is not possible. I actually have to decide this week if we will continue to produce Kasher chocolate.
“The question is simple: is it still profitable without the American market?”
The production is very restrictive. You must fully clean the factory to ensure that no trace of non -Kasher materials is found in chocolate. This heavy and costly procedure takes place twice a year: once in the spring, once in autumn.
You still have time before fall. Why decide now?
Because I have to order the ingredients now: Kasher milk and fat. We could repel production at the end of October, but without raw materials, nothing can be produced.
“And order for nothing, it’s too expensive”
Made in Switzerland: the famous kosher chocolate from the Torino brand.Image: dr
Normally, the importer should absorb additional costs linked to 39%rights, right?
Theoretically yes, but in real life, he can turn to a cheaper supplier. We negotiate with him, but the majority of additional costs will stay on our shoulders. It is unlikely that it will succeed in repercussions in full on the American consumer.
What would be the price of a Torino (100 g) tablet in the USA?
Currently, we are about 5 dollars. Not so long ago, it was $ 3. The prices have already been noted because of the more expensive cocoa and the strong Swiss franc.
“With 39%duties, we would risk climbing the tablet to 7 dollars. A real shock “
This is the price to pay for the economic policy of their president.
“It is possible. But it is we, in Switzerland, who suffer. With this additional cost, we disappear from the market ”
I propose that the Confederation temporarily reactivates the old “Chocolatière law”. It would compensate for 20% of customs fees for Swiss food producers exporting, in order to balance the difference with European rights lower.
This law previously compensated Swiss producers, who were to buy expensive agricultural products, which was equivalent to an indirect subsidy to our farmers. Today, would it be indirectly subsidizing American consumers?
Exactly. But if nothing is done, American consumers will no longer buy Swiss chocolate. It can be their punishment.
“But for us, it’s much worse: getting out of a supermarket department, it’s sometimes definitive, or you have to pay the high price to come back.”
The most famous product of the Camille Bloch house: Ragusa.Image: Severin Bigler
Does the chocolatière sector again demand a law on chocolate?
No, this is my idea for me, not the displayed opinion of the whole branch. Some colleagues are more concerned with regulatory implications.
“But given the urgency of the situation, we must dare to unusual solutions”
The United States represents the fifth export market for the Swiss chocolate factory, after Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Canada. And it is also an expanding market.
Lindt seems to react differently; They plan to move the production of their golden rabbits from Germany to the USA. Is this an option for you?
It is not possible to us. Our only production site is in Courtelary, in the canton of Bern.
“Yes, it will hurt us”
One might have to stop the Kasher production and lose around 30% of our export, because it is almost entirely intended for the stranger. But our main market remains Switzerland. Other producers, very dependent on exports and in particular private labelwill be even more affected. There, the price sensitivity is even stronger.
Translated and adapted from German by Léon Dietrich
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