UK – Switzerland Agree Enhanced Trade Agreement

Yesterday, 13^th July, the UK announced an enhance Free Trade Agreement with Switzerland that represents the “most significant trade agreement for services concluded by the UK”.   The new agreement builds on the existing, goods-focussed FTA that was based on the EU-Switzerland FTA signed in 1972.

According to DBT figures, the new agreement could result in UK services exports to Switzerland increasing by £5.2billion (26%) per year in the long run.   This is a significant increase in a market that is already the UK's 6^th largest services export market and overall, our 10^th largest trading partner which supports roughly 171,400 jobs in the UK.

Key benefits:

Benefits of the enhanced agreement include:

• Creating opportunities in key Industrial Strategy sectors including finance, professional services, life sciences, creative industries and digital technologies.
•  UK nationals will be able to use eGates at Swiss border to reduce delays at airports and the border
• UK services professionals will be able to deliver their services visa-free for up to 90 days a year to Switzerland. 
• UK businesses will be able to transfer staff from their UK offices to their Swiss offices for up to 5 years without being subjected to economic needs tests.
• UK businesses can access Swiss talent through a new, visa-free, short-term service-supplier route.
• Graduates in areas such as finance, insurance and consultancy will find it much easier to gain a permit to work in Switzerland
• The introduction of a surcharge-free, international mobile roaming between UK and Switzerland
• Strong commitments to ensure the seamless flow of data, including guarantees that unjustified restrictions cannot be introduced in the future.

Next steps:

The UK and Switzerland will now work together to official sign the agreement and complete the necessary legislative steps as quickly as possible.  Once these steps have been taken people can start to utilise the trade agreement.