Swiss army knife maker Victorinox considers production shift to ease U.S. tariffs

BERLIN (Reuters) -Victorinox, maker of Swiss army knives, is considering moving part of its production to the United States to lessen the impact of import tariffs on its business, the company's CEO told 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," CEO Carl Elsener said in an interview published on Tuesday.

"That would reduce the value of the goods on which we have to pay customs duty by 10% to 15%," he added.

Switzerland has been particularly hard hit by Washington's trade policy under President Donald Trump, who earlier this month ratcheted up U.S. tariffs on Swiss imports to 39%.

The U.S. is an important market for Swiss machinery, watches and chocolate.

Victorinox, which makes commercial knives as well as its well-known pocket knives, generates some 13% of its revenue in the country.

Elsener told WirtschaftsWoche the customs duties were coming at an already difficult time. "The strong Swiss franc has put our competitiveness and our margins under considerable pressure," Elsener said.

Still, high inventories in the U.S. 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.

Economic uncertainty caused by Trump's trade policies has fueled demand for the safe haven Swiss franc, boosting the currency and making Swiss-made goods dearer abroad.

(Writing by Rachel More and Dave GrahamEditing by Madeline Chambers)