Switzerland's watch industry is pushing Washington for an exemption from the new 12.5% US tariff that took effect on Friday.
Georges Kern, chief executive of Breitling, has made the public case in interviews with the NZZ am Sonntag and Newsweek, arguing that a product America does not manufacture should not be protected.
He points to the exemptions already granted to Scotch whisky and to coffee, a decision from which Nestlé's Swiss-made capsules gain considerably.
The head of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Yves Bugmann, confirms the sector has been lobbying since Donald Trump's first tariff threats.
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