New "Swiss made" Faces Opposition from Brussels
May 04, 2007
One more struggle for the European Union will occur as Brussels is opposing to a possible strengthening of the order regarding the Swiss name for timepieces, i. e. "Swiss made." It is worth mentioning that the order was issued by the Federal Council.
The announcement made by the Federation Horlogere Suisse is meant to return the fame and the prestige of the popular "Swiss made" name. However, according to SonntagsZeitung, the proposition looks more like a protectionist measure coming from the European Union.
Ulrich Trautmann, a representative of the General Direction of the European Commission's external affairs stated that there should be no free-trade limitation between the EU and Switzerland. Generally speaking Switzerland is not allowed to act on its own, it has to negotiate with Europe.
Besides the tension between the EU and Switzerland, the country must face the pressure from the permanent Comity of European horology (CPHE). The president of the comity, Jean-Louis Burdet, stated that Switzerland does not have the full freedom on the "Swiss made" case, because currently it relies on the free-trade agreement signed by both parties in 1972. On May 4, Geneva will house the members of the CPHE. Due to this fact their Swiss colleagues will undoubtedly be advised to further consult the European Union.
It is worth mentioning that, according to the new condition, watches that have the right to be marked "Swiss made" have to fulfill a certain criteria which, however, currently does not exist. The new condition states that for mechanical watches at least 80 percent of the manufacturing costs should represents operations made exclusively in Switzerland. As concerning electronic timekeepers the percentage of manufacturing costs should be at least 60.
The final decision, however, is to be take on June 28. The procedure is expected to be full of traps and last for a quite long period of time since the actual critics come from Brussels.