Swiss flag in the port of Geneva, Switzerland, March 13, 2024.
Dennis Bariboos | Reuters
The UK and Switzerland announced a free trade agreement in services on Monday. The deal is expected to increase UK exports by billions of dollars and ease travel between the two countries.
It is the sixth trade deal Britain has struck in the past two years and comes as the ruling Labor Party seeks closer ties with Europe as part of its post-Brexit reset. Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it is deeply integrated into the European single market through a network of bilateral treaties.
The British government estimates that the free trade agreement will ultimately result in additional exports to Switzerland amounting to 5.2 billion pounds ($6.96 billion) a year over the next few years.
A separate agreement would also allow travelers between the two countries to use electronic gates to reduce waiting times at airports, while also eliminating data roaming charges for visitors.
The UK government said in a statement that the deal was the “most significant trade in services agreement” the country had ever signed. Both countries’ economies rely heavily on the services industry, which accounts for 81% of the UK’s GDP and 83% of employment, according to government statistics.
The “historic destiny” of Britain’s return to the EU
Chris Bryant, Britain’s trade policy secretary, told CNBC in an exclusive interview on Monday that this is the best deal the country has ever struck on services.
“We have a lot of areas that are very similar, like financial services, insurance delivery, life sciences and pharmaceuticals,” he told CNBC’s Ritika Gupta.
Mr Bryant also said the government wanted trade with the European Union to be as frictionless as possible, adding that he believed the country’s “historic destiny” was to return to the EU.
Peter Kyle, UK Trade Secretary, added: “This is the most important trade in services deal the UK has ever negotiated. It will deliver huge benefits for British businesses and consumers and follows numerous agreements with the US, Europe, the Gulf, South Korea and India.”
