UK resumes trade talks with Switzerland in ‘Global Britain’ push
British and Swiss trade negotiators will resume trade talks on Monday as they seek to broker deeper access to each other’s financial services markets as well as agreements on data sharing and worker visas.
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The meeting in London — the fifth round of talks between the two nations aimed at enhancing their existing free trade agreement — will be the first since Labour swept to power in the UK’s July 4 general election. The new government has committed to continue work toward a swath of deals initiated by its Conservative predecessor.
The talks are still at an early stage with knotty issues to be addressed in future rounds, according to people close to the process who asked not to be named discussing private negotiations. Both the UK and Switzerland want to update the FTA to encourage investment in their respective countries, addressing issues around data-sharing and worker mobility.
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The discussions provide Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new administration with an opportunity to deepen ties with Britain’s 10th largest trading partner — bilateral trade was worth £51 billion ($66 billion) in 2023 — and its seventh largest export market. The government came to power on a promise to reset its international relations and attract more investment domestically and from abroad in order to get the economy firing.
Separately on Monday, ministers are hosting an International Investment Summit in London on Monday in an effort to prove that Britain is open for business.
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In the run-up to the general election, in which Labour secured a landslide victory, the now Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he would focus on smaller sector-specific deals. The renewal of talks with Switzerland and with the Gulf Cooperation Council, however, signals he’s open to signing broader agreements where work is already underway.
The British team will be led by chief negotiator James Clarke. Trade between the two nations is currently largely governed by an FTA signed by Switzerland and the European Union in 1972. It mainly covers goods, but services now drives trade between the two countries.
An updated deal with Switzerland “will help drive economic growth and boost jobs and prosperity across the UK,” Reynolds said in a statement.
People close to the negotiations said the updated FTA was unlikely to make large changes to the rules governing agriculture, where Switzerland currently has high tariff and quota barriers to protect its farmers.
However negotiators hope to reach a data adequacy agreement, which would allow data to flow between the two countries without further safeguards, the people said. This would grant certainty to businesses which operate in both countries that, when investing in data centers, neither the UK nor Switzerland would be able to demand that the center is located in their country.
Negotiators also aim to simplify rules governing the movement of workers. Large Swiss companies such as UBS and Zurich Insurance Group currently have a heavy presence in the UK, and are seeking certainty that they will be able to move workers easily between jurisdictions on short-term visas. Meanwhile differences in the way Switzerland’s cantons operate can confuse UK businesses sending staff there.
The meeting with Swiss officials will mark the second set of trade talks which have been restarted by Labour, after negotiators met with representatives from the Gulf Cooperation Council last month. Reynolds has also committed to continue talks with India, Israel, South Korea and Turkey. While they began under the last government, progress was generally seen to be slower than anticipated.
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