Historically neutral, Switzerland takes sanctions against Russia via luxury


After the EU imposed drastic sanctions on Russia in response to the conflict in Ukraine, Switzerland, which has always maintained neutrality in geopolitical conflicts, decided to follow the general trend.
Switzerland has adopted the European Union‘s sanctions on the export of luxury goods to Russia, acknowledging that some Swiss companies could be hit hard.
The European Union on Tuesday imposed a fourth wave of sanctions, which Switzerland said it would match. The country is not part of the EU and has a long tradition of neutrality on war, but it has nevertheless aligned itself with the waves of sanctions imposed by the EU.
The new measures “will come into force in the next few days“, the Swiss government said in a statement. “The ban on exports of luxury goods contained in the new sanctions affects only a small part of Switzerland’s global exports in this area. However, specific companies could be seriously affected,” Berne said.
Watchmaking is Switzerland’s third largest export sector, although far behind the pharmaceutical sector viagra para mulher. Russia is the 17th largest export market for Swiss watchmakers, with 260 million Swiss francs (250 million euros) worth of exports last year, according to statistics from the watch industry federation, representing about 1% of total Swiss watch exports.
However, exports are only a partial indication of sales because wealthy luxury watch lovers often spend a lot of money on tourist trips to Switzerland. Even before the sanctions were imposed, several major Swiss brands, including Rolex, had already halted their exports to Russia.
Last week, the Swatch Group, which owns Tissot, Omega and Breguet, closed its shops in Russia, having already suspended exports the week before. Richemont, owner of the jewellery house Cartier and luxury watches such as IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, also suspended their activities in Russia.
Read also > THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION BANS THE EXPORT OF LUXURY GOODS TO RUSSIA
Featured photo : © Roman Ivanov
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Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.