Sourcing comparison · Clocks & Watches
Tariff & fee savings only, assuming equal product cost — your actual landed cost also depends on price and freight, which vary by supplier.
| Annual import value | Estimated duty & fee savings / year |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | $2,638 |
| $250,000 | $13,188 |
| $1,000,000 | $52,750 |
Savings scale linearly with volume. Enter your exact figure to model it precisely.
Calculate your exact volume →The cheapest factory for clocks & watches is no longer always the cheapest landed cost — tariffs have reshuffled the math. Japan carries roughly 20% in duties and fees against 15% for Switzerland, a spread worth near $5,275 on $100,000 of annual volume. For a category this exposed to surcharges, the sourcing map is effectively a pricing map. Each component of the two stacks is detailed below, alongside what it means for a real sourcing decision.
The gap is easiest to see by walking each origin's tariffs in turn. On the Japan side, Customs applies a 5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 15% negotiated bilateral rate on its clocks & watches, an effective 20% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. Shipped out of Switzerland, the product is hit with a 5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge on its clocks & watches, an effective 15% once the $49.74 in processing fees are added. A Section 122 reciprocal surcharge is also in play — a temporary balance-of-payments measure scheduled to lapse in mid-2026, so its weight on this comparison is time-limited. Because the MPF and HMF ($49.74 combined) track customs value rather than origin, they wash out of the comparison entirely. The arithmetic difference between the stacks is $527.50 per $10,000 entry, all of it in the duty layers since the processing fees are origin-blind. Multiply across your volume and it is near $1,319 for $25,000 and about $5,275 for $100,000 a year. On a $25,000 purchase order that is about $1,319 of duty difference — the kind of figure that shows up directly in a quarter's gross margin.
Within HTS 91, clocks & watches includes Wristwatches, Wall clocks, Alarm clocks, and Watch movements. For clocks & watches, where buyers reorder frequently, the duty rate compounds into one of the largest controllable costs on the P&L. Based in Asia-Pacific, Japan is best known to US importers for passenger vehicles, auto parts components, and industrial machinery. A bilateral deal swaps Japan's Section 122 surcharge for a negotiated rate, reshaping how its clocks & watches stack is built. Based in Europe, Switzerland is best known to US importers for pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, and chemicals industrial compounds. With no preferential deal in force, Switzerland clocks & watches faces the standard rates plus any applicable surcharge. Different regions — Asia-Pacific versus Europe — mean shipping economics deserve a look beside the tariff math. Switzerland clears this category at a structurally lower rate than Japan, an edge that persists across order cycles rather than a spot-price blip. With the US running its highest average tariff in decades, concentrated exposure to one high-duty origin is now a measurable annual cost rather than an abstract risk.
The headline is $5,275 at $100,000; because the rate gap is fixed, larger programs scale cleanly — $2,638, $13,188, and $52,750 at $50,000, $250,000, and $1,000,000. Every figure is produced by the same tariff engine behind the site's calculators, holding FOB value, freight and insurance constant so only the duty effect of origin shows through. These figures reflect tariff and fee savings only, assuming equal product cost — your actual landed cost also depends on price and freight, which vary by supplier. Subtract any per-unit premium Switzerland charges from the duty saving to get the true net benefit before deciding. A quick checklist for the Switzerland option: match the HTS classification, get a quote that itemises duty apart from freight, and check for any antidumping or countervailing order on your item. Lock the comparison to a quote date; a surcharge added or lifted can change the ranking between negotiation and purchase order. Model your exact volume and compare further origins in the interactive Tariff Savings Finder. One origin still carries the Section 122 surcharge, due to expire mid-2026; the ranking can shift once it lapses.
At $100,000 of annual import value, switching from Japan to Switzerland saves an estimated $5,275 in duties and fees, because the effective tariff rate falls from 20% to 15%. The saving scales linearly with volume. These figures reflect tariff and fee savings only, assuming equal product cost — your actual landed cost also depends on price and freight, which vary by supplier.
Switzerland-origin clocks & watches is assessed a 5% Most-Favoured-Nation base duty and a 10% Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, for an effective 15% duty rate before the Merchandise Processing Fee ($36.55) and Harbor Maintenance Fee ($13.19).
Japan carries an effective 20% rate versus 15% for Switzerland. The gap comes from differences in the base, Section 122, Section 232 and bilateral rates that apply to each origin.
Possibly. One of these origins currently carries the Section 122 reciprocal surcharge, which is scheduled to expire in mid-2026. The Tariff Savings Finder lets you toggle a post-expiry view to see whether the ranking shifts once that surcharge is removed.
Tariff rates from Tax Foundation, USITC, and Penn Wharton Budget Model. Last verified May 13, 2026.
