As two non-EU countries with close ties to the bloc, Bern and London have bolstered relations in a new and wide-ranging agreement.
Switzerland and Britain recently concluded negotiations for a new free trade agreement, Bern said Monday.
British Trade Secretary Peter Kyle described it as “the most significant services trade deal the UK has ever negotiated” and the agreement is wide-ranging, covering various sectors.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will provide £5.2 billion (roughly 5.64 billion francs) a year in additional UK services exports to Switzerland, estimates suggest.
Bern and London already had a pre-existing deal, agreed in 2019 in the political aftermath of Brexit, to forge a closer relationship between two non-EU countries outside the bloc.
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That deal entered into force in 2021 but negotiators started working on a more wide-ranging deal soon after, knowing that a bolstered deal would be desirable down the line.
The Swiss economic affairs ministry said in a statement on Monday: “The new agreement goes well beyond maintaining the status quo and places bilateral economic relations on a comprehensive and modern footing”.
The deal “safeguards existing preferential arrangements in trade in goods and provides for targeted improvements to market access,” it adds.
“At the same time, it expands and modernises the bilateral legal framework, particularly with regard to trade in services, investment, the mobility of service providers and digital trade.”
The deal “also includes provisions on financial services, telecommunications, public procurement, intellectual property, trade and sustainable development, and small and medium-sized enterprises”, the ministry said, adding that the agreement would strengthen “legal certainty for businesses in both countries”.
Once the last legal formalities are agreed, the deal could be signed and made law by the end of 2026, Switzerland said.
Here are the main takeaways to know about.
What to know about Switzerland’s new trade deal with the UK
E-gates
As per the deal, British travellers arriving in Switzerland will soon be able to use e-Gates at Swiss airports.
A UK government document states that: “Switzerland have announced that UK nationals will soon be able to use eGates at Swiss borders, in line with Schengen requirements.
“They will be able to exit via eGates at Zurich Airport from as soon as the end of 2026. Switzerland is also working towards allowing entry via eGates at Zurich, Geneva and Basel airports and will set out a timetable shortly.”
Visa-free business travel
The FTA also focuses specifically on business travellers and easing worker movement.
The agreement aims to make business travel between the UK and Switzerland ”simple and smooth for years to come.”
“UK services professionals will be able to deliver their services visa-free for up to 90 days a year to Switzerland. UK businesses will also be able to transfer staff from their UK offices to their Swiss offices for up to 5 years without being subject to stringent economic needs tests,” according to the UK government.
The deal also creates routes for British businesses to hire Swiss workers: “We have also made it easier for UK businesses to access Swiss talent and expertise through a bespoke, visa-free, short-term service-supplier route. It will now be possible for a UK business to bring a Swiss service supplier to work in the UK at short notice for a period up to three months.”
Reporting in the Guardian, however, states that UK government sources confirmed that a “youth mobility [scheme] was not discussed as part of the agreement.”
No mobile roaming costs for UK nationals
Crucially for UK travellers visiting Switzerland, expensive roaming costs for mobile use abroad will be removed.
“The UK and Switzerland intend to include surcharge-free international mobile roaming,” the UK government notes.
“This would mean that UK tourists and business travellers would be able to use their mobile phones in Switzerland as part of their regular phone contract and without incurring extra roaming charges. ”
