The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has recently confirmed that the seventh round of negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Switzerland took place in London over a period of nearly two weeks at the beginning of June.
Round eight of the negotiations is expected to take place in Switzerland in Autumn 2025.
Switzerland is the UK’s 10th biggest trading partner and the UK-Swiss trade relationship was worth more than £45 billion in 2024, the DBT has highlighted. Services exports account for more than £18 billion of this, making Switzerland the UK’s sixth largest services export partner.
At the latest round of negotiations, provisional agreement was reached on several areas, including Rules of Origin (ROO), Dispute Settlement, Development, Consumer Protection, Anti-Corruption and Animal Welfare.
“An enhanced FTA with Switzerland aims to deliver long-term certainty for UK services firms,” the DBT said, “by locking in access to the Swiss market, guaranteeing the free flow of data and cementing business travel arrangements.”
The DBT has invited any organisation or individual interested in speaking to it about negotiations with Switzerland to email the department at ch.fta.engagement@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
