Published on 15 September 2026 in Client Alerts

United Kingdom and Switzerland conclude negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement

On 13 July 2026, the United Kingdom and the Swiss Confederation announced the conclusion of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement (“FTA”). This followed ten rounds of negotiations to modernise the two States’ bilateral framework which were launched in 2023.  The Parties have indicated that they anticipate the final technical edits to be finalised by the end of 2026, with the treaty entering into force subsequently. The enhanced FTA will succeed the UK-Switzerland Trade Agreement, which had entered into force on 1 January 2021.  That agreement in turn had significantly replicated the pre-existing arrangements between the European Union and Switzerland dating from 1972 which was focused principally on trade in goods.

Amongst other things, the FTA:

• locks in existing levels of market access for service suppliers in specified sectors and introduces, for the first time in a Swiss FTA, a “ratchet” mechanism under which future liberalisation by Switzerland in certain sectors cannot subsequently be withdrawn;
• guarantees the right of United Kingdom lawyers to provide legal advisory services in foreign and international law in Switzerland, without requalification or registration with Swiss competent authorities;
• places on a permanent footing the commitments contained in the temporary Services Mobility Agreement, which is due to expire at the end of 2029, including the ability of United Kingdom professionals to supply services in Switzerland for up to 90 days per calendar year without a work permit, and establishes a visa-free route of up to three months for Swiss short-term service suppliers in specified sectors;
• contains commitments on cross-border data flows, restrictions on data localisation requirements and protections against the forced disclosure of source code and cryptographic information; and
• provides for targeted tariff reductions in goods, including a 0% rate within Switzerland’s World Trade Organization quota for sheep meat and a 34% tariff reduction on sparkling wine, together with new chapters on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and customs procedures.

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For further information, please contact info@volterrafietta.com.