The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and the Swiss Confederation (Switzerland) have concluded negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Building on the existing goods-focused agreement, itself based on the EU–Switzerland agreement signed in 1972, this enhanced deal modernises and deepens the trading relationship with one of our closest economic partners.

The UK is a services superpower, and this agreement is estimated to increase UK services exports to Switzerland by £5.2 billion annually in the long run.It will make it cheaper and easier for businesses and professionals to travel to and supply services in the Swiss market, providing certainty for our trading arrangements with a key European partner for years to come.

Economic growth is the number one mission of this government and international trade plays a key role in creating opportunities for businesses, supporting jobs and driving investment across the UK. This FTA builds on the agreements we have secured with the United States, the European Union, India, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Republic of Korea, strengthening the UK’s position as an open, outward-looking trading nation.

Switzerland is the UK’s sixth largest services export market with bilateral services trade in 2025 amounting to over £30 billion. The agreement builds on this relationship, helping to support jobs across the UK – including the 171,400 already sustained by exports to Switzerland. Furthermore, Swiss-owned businesses employed around 150,000 people in the UK in 2024 and total bilateral trade reached £53 billion in 2025 and bilateral foreign direct investment stood at £87 billion at the end of 2024.

This is the most significant trade agreement for services concluded by the UK as it includes the UK's most ambitious digital chapter and most comprehensive business travel commitments in an FTA, along with high-ambition outcomes across services and investment. It helps reinforce the UK’s position as one of the world’s leading services exporters and will help unlock new opportunities in key Industrial Strategy sectors including finance, professional services, life sciences, creative industries and digital technologies.

The UK has also secured the most comprehensive digital chapter ever agreed by Switzerland in an FTA. With over 70 per cent of UK-Swiss services trade delivered digitally, the agreement guarantees the free flow of data while maintaining existing privacy protections. It modernises the digital trading environment through commitments on electronic contracts, signatures and invoicing, prevents customs duties on electronic transmissions and has the strongest commitments to prohibit unjustified data localisation requirements.

The FTA delivers long-term business certainty for UK services firms, a key ask from stakeholders throughout the negotiations. The UK and Switzerland have agreed that future improvements to access in certain sectors are locked in. This provides UK firms with a more stable and predictable business environment, which will give them the confidence to plan and invest for the long term. The agreement also permanently secures the rights of UK lawyers to provide advisory services in foreign and international law in Switzerland without requiring requalification.

The agreement complements the wider framework of UK-Swiss cooperation, including the Berne Financial Services Agreement and the UK-Swiss Recognition of Professional Qualifications Agreement.

The UK and Switzerland are global leaders in life sciences. The UK’s ambition is to become Europe’s leading life sciences economy by 2030, and the FTA will support this vision. The UK and Switzerland will commit to maintaining existing balanced IP protections for pharmaceuticals. This goes beyond any prior UK or Swiss FTA. The deal will commit the UK to maintaining our existing 10-year period of Regulatory Data Protection, consisting of at least 8 years of data exclusivity and 10 years of market exclusivity (sometimes known together as "8+2 years" of regulatory data protection). The FTA will also commit the UK to maintaining up to 5 years of protection for Supplementary Protection Certificates, with the flexibility to increase the maximum term available. These standards support the discovery and development of new medicines. This does not change UK legislation or practice. It maintains the existing balance between supporting pharmaceutical innovation and the NHS's access to lower cost generic medicines.

Switzerland have announced that UK nationals will soon be able to use e-gates 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, particularly at Zurich, Geneva and Basel airports, and will set out a timetable shortly.

The enhanced FTA permanently secures the commitments contained in the temporary UK-Swiss Services Mobility Agreement, currently due to expire at the end of 2029. This protects an estimated £700 million in UK services exports annually in the long run. British professionals will continue to be able to provide services in Switzerland for up to 90 days each year without requiring a work permit, while new provisions improve certainty for business visitors, intra-corporate transferees and graduate trainees.

We have also made it easier for UK businesses to access Swiss talent and expertise temporarily in certain specific services sectors, this is for up to three months through a bespoke, visa-free, short-term service supplier route.

Switzerland has also ensured contracts by UK service suppliers in key sectors such as legal, architecture and engineering can be delivered for several months. To encourage inward investment and support UK growth, Switzerland has agreed commitments on Investor mobility for the first time in an FTA, facilitating business establishment and expansion for UK and Swiss businesses.

The opportunities from this agreement will be felt across all nations and regions of the United Kingdom. It will support services firms ranging from major financial and professional services employers in London and Leeds to specialist SMEs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is also the first UK FTA to include specific coverage for Gibraltar from day one by ensuring that Gibraltar’s businesspersons will continue to be able to supply services in Switzerland for up to 90 days a year without a permit.

The UK and Switzerland also intend to include bilateral surcharge-free international mobile roaming arrangements. This would allow UK travellers to use mobile services in Switzerland without incurring additional roaming charges, reducing costs for consumers and businesses alike.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups and scale-ups will benefit from streamlined administrative requirements, simplified licensing and qualification procedures, digital payment options and new paperless trading arrangements. The deal also provides greater certainty by preventing a range of future restrictions on how UK businesses can operate, grow and manage investments in Switzerland, giving firms the confidence they need to navigate the market.

Finally, the agreement establishes a dedicated Innovation Working Group, bringing together business, academia and government to identify future opportunities and address emerging challenges. It is designed to evolve alongside new technologies including AI and changing global conditions, ensuring the bilateral relationship remains future-focused. Alongside its commercial benefits, the agreement strengthens cooperation on climate change, development and gender equality, reflecting our shared commitment to a modern and inclusive partnership.

Alongside services, the agreement preserves tariff‑free access across 99% of existing goods trade, ensuring continuity and long-term certainty for UK exporters.

We will now begin the process of preparing the treaty for signature and implementation, and the department will update the House further in due course.

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