As a U.S. tariff deadline neared this week, Swiss watch manufacturer DuBois et fils rushed to ship five high-end watches worth thousands of dollars each to the United States. By Wednesday the firm had blocked orders on its U.

The Swiss government is ready to make a "more attractive offer" in trade talks with Washington, the cabinet said on Monday, after a crisis meeting aimed at averting a 39% U.S. tariff on Swiss imports that could hammer the export-driven economy.

The Swiss president is heading to the U.S. in a last-ditch effort to head off punishing tariffs that threaten to cripple key sectors of the country’s export-reliant economy. President Trump’s recent decision to impose a 39% levy—one of the highest in the world—stunned the Alpine nation and upended months of negotiations in which Swiss officials believed they were on the verge of securing a favorable deal.