Engaged in the clothing industry for 20 years.
Switzerland slaps sanctions on luxury exports to Russia
Switzerland on Friday adopted the EU’s
sanctions on exporting luxury goods to Russia imposed over the Kremlin’s war
in Ukraine, acknowledging that some Swiss companies could be badly hit.
The European Union imposed a fourth wave of sanctions on Tuesday, which
Switzerland said it would match.
Switzerland is not in the EU and has a long-standing tradition of
neutrality on matters of war, but nonetheless has been aligning itself with
waves of EU sanctions imposed following Russia’s February 24 invasion of
Ukraine.
The new measures “will come into force within the next few days”, the Swiss
government said in a statement.
“The ban on the export of luxury goods contained in the new sanctions
affects only a small portion of Switzerland’s global exports of such goods.
However, specific companies could be seriously affected,” Bern admitted.
Watchmaking is the wealthy Alpine nation’s third-largest export sector,
though far behind the giant pharmaceutical sector.
Russia is the 17th-biggest export market for Swiss watch manufacturers,
amounting to 260 million Swiss francs ($280 million, 250 million euros) last
year, according to statistics from the watch industry federation, representing
around one percent of total Swiss watch exports.
However, exports only give a partial indication of watch sales to wealthy
luxury watch lovers, who often splash out during tourist trips to Switzerland.
Rich Russians are among the chief watch enthusiasts, with President
Vladimir Putin himself regularly seen wearing prestigious Swiss brands on his
right wrist.
Even before the sanctions, several major Swiss brands including Rolex had
already halted their exports to Russia.
Last week, the Swatch group, which owns of Tissot, Omega and Breguet,
closed its stores in Russia, having already suspended its exports the week
before.
Luxury goods giant Richemont, owner of jewellery house Cartier and luxury
watches such as IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, also suspended operations in Russia
from March 3.
The EU’s list of targeted products bans the export of champagne as well as
cigars, perfumes, watches, jewellery, yachts and luxury sedan cars.(AFP)