Swiss Army knife production may move to US amid Trump tariffs

Times

11 hours ago

America could wrest control of the manufacture of Swiss Army knives away from their Alpine homeland in a coup for President Trump's trade policy.
Victorinox, which has made the knives in Ibach, Switzerland, since 1884, is considering moving part of its production to the US to soften the blow from import tariffs on its business.
Carl Elsener, chief executive of Victorinox, told the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche: 'We are looking into carrying out directly on site individual processing steps at the end of the value chain, such as the final cleaning and packaging of commercial knives.'
'That would reduce the value of the goods on which we have to pay customs duty by 10 per cent,' he added.
Since 1884, Victorinox's founding family, the Elseners, have worked to keep manufacturing the Swiss Army knife in Switzerland.
The country has been severely hit by Washington's trade policy under Trump, who earlier this month increased US tariffs on Swiss imports to 39 per cent.
The US is a leading export market for Swiss brands including Swatch, Rolex and Patek Philippe watches as well as high-end cheeses and chocolates.
Victorinox, which makes commercial knives as well as its well-known pocket knives, generates some 13 per cent of its revenue in the US.
Elsener told WirtschaftsWoche that the customs duties were coming at an already difficult time. 'The strong Swiss franc has put our competitiveness and our margins under considerable pressure,' he said.
Still, high inventories in the US meant the tariffs would not affect Victorinox until early next year, he added. For now, the firm would wait and see how things develop, he said.
Industry associations and economists have said the tariffs will inflict major damage on the Swiss economy, put jobs at risk and curtail growth. They could also push the Swiss National Bank to cut interest rates next month.
Economic uncertainty caused by Trump's trade policies has fuelled demand for the safe haven Swiss franc, boosting the currency and making Swiss-made goods more expensive abroad.