UK and Switzerland strike upgraded trade deal focused on services

Britain and Switzerland concluded an upgraded free-trade agreement in Bern on July 13 after meetings between UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle and Swiss President Guy Parmelin, putting services, digital commerce and cross-border work ahead of tariffs on goods. The agreement makes it easier for firms in finance, technology, pharmaceuticals and legal services to operate across the two markets, with reciprocal visa-free travel for services professionals for up to 90 days a year.

The agreement builds on a 2019 continuity pact that carried over the old EU-Switzerland framework after Brexit, then modernizes it with rules on digital data flows, electronic signatures, invoicing and business travel. UK government data show just over 70% of UK-Swiss services trade was delivered digitally in 2023.

Services accounted for more than £18.4 billion of the trading relationship in the four quarters ending Q1 2025, making Switzerland the UK’s sixth-largest services export partner, while the broader bilateral relationship was worth more than £45.1 billion over the same period. A parliamentary statement put the relationship at supporting 130,000 services jobs across the UK in 2020, and the UK government estimates the upgraded pact could unlock an additional £5.2 billion a year in UK services exports to Switzerland over the long run.

The mobility provisions also extend a temporary arrangement already in place. Under the UK-Switzerland Services Mobility Agreement, British professionals can work in Switzerland for up to 90 days without a work permit, and that arrangement now runs until December 31, 2029 after an extension that took effect on December 1, 2025. The new free-trade deal provides a permanent solution, while also preserving the UK’s 10-year regulatory data-protection period in a first-of-its-kind commitment in a free-trade agreement.