UK and Switzerland sign trade agreement

On 11 February 2019 the United Kingdom’s International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, and the Swiss Federal Councillor, Guy Parmelin, signed a trade continuity agreement. This new trade agreement will come into force as soon as the Swiss/EU agreements no longer apply between Switzerland and the UK. Therefore, if the UK leaves the EU with a deal, the Swiss/EU agreements will continue to apply to the UK during the transition period. However, in the case that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, this new trade agreement will provisionally come into effect on 30 March 2019.

The new trade agreement between Switzerland and the UK replicates the majority of EU trade agreements between the two countries such as the 1972 Free Trade Agreement, the Agreement on Public Procurement, the Agreement on the Fight against Fraud, part of the Agreement on Mutual Recognition in Relation to Conformity Assessment and the 1999 Agreement on Agriculture.

Additionally, on 11 February 2019 the Principality of Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the UK also agreed to extend the new trade agreement to the territory of Liechtenstein, which forms a customs union with Switzerland.

Please follow the below links for further information:

• Press release from the UK

• Press release from Switzerland (in English with links to German, French, and Italian versions)

• Further detailed information on Swiss and UK economic relations after Brexit (as of 11.02.2019) from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) (in English with links to German, French, and Italian versions)

• Fact sheet from SECO entitled: Economic relations between Switzerland and the United Kingdom after Brexit (as of 11.02.2019)