Stiff US tariffs on Switzerland badly hurt the Alpine country's exports in the third quarter, official figures showed Tuesday, with Swiss watchmakers in particular suffering.

Overall exports slipped 3.9 percent between the beginning of July and end-September, the federal customs service said -- but the plummet in the value of goods dispatched to the United States was dramatic.

Swiss exports to the US for the quarter dropped 8.2 percent, as the country grappled with 39-percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which came into effect in August.

Watch exports to America more than halved in September, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said.

The 56-percent slash in sales to the US more than wiped out big export increases to several Asian markets, such as China and South

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