UK - Switzerland Joint Statement: May 2023
The UK and Switzerland issue a joint statement to kickstart negotiations on a modern free trade agreement.
Switzerland and the United Kingdom are pleased to announce the start of negotiations for an enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between our countries. Building on the long history of close relations and shared values of our two countries, the enhanced FTA will improve on the arrangements in our current Trade Agreement signed in February 2019.
Negotiations present an opportunity to deepen and strengthen the important and valuable UK-Switzerland trade relationship for the benefit of a more prosperous future for two like-minded European nations.
Switzerland and the United Kingdom are both committed to achieving an ambitious agreement which reflects the 21st Century trading environment and delivers commercially meaningful opportunities in services and goods. A modern, comprehensive FTA will strengthen commitments to trade in areas including services, intellectual property rights, investment flows and digital trade, all of which are not included in our current agreement.
A new FTA will provide long-term legal certainty for business. It will enhance our Trade Agreement from 2019 and build on recent successes in our bilateral trading relations such as the extended Services Mobility Agreement and the Mutual Recognition Agreement in relation to Conformity Assessment, agreed last year. It will also reflect and complement our ongoing dialogues and areas of collaboration. It will further strengthen economic relations between Switzerland and the United Kingdom and provide an excellent basis for future cooperation opportunities, particularly on areas where both our countries are mutual leaders such as innovative research and development.
Switzerland’s and the United Kingdom’s negotiation teams have been instructed to hold the first official round of negotiations in London this May, and a second round in the autumn. This will enable significant progress towards our ambition to agree a new Free Trade Agreement.