Switzerland and Britain conclude talks on upgraded trade deal

On 13 July 2026, Switzerland said it and Britain had concluded negotiations on an upgraded free trade agreement.

The Swiss economic affairs ministry said the agreement would increase legal certainty for businesses in both countries. The talks concluded during a meeting in Bern between Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Britain's Trade Secretary Peter Kyle.

After Britain decided in 2016 to leave the European Union, London and Bern concluded a trade agreement in 2019 to define their trade relations outside the bloc and safeguard mutual rights and obligations. That agreement took effect in 2021. Two years later, the two countries began negotiations on a more comprehensive free trade deal.

The Swiss ministry said the new agreement goes beyond maintaining the status quo and puts bilateral economic relations on a broader and more modern footing. It said the deal preserves existing preferential arrangements in goods trade and provides targeted improvements to market access.

According to the ministry, the agreement also expands and updates the legal framework for trade in services, investment, mobility of service providers and digital trade. It said the deal includes provisions on financial services, telecommunications, public procurement, intellectual property, trade and sustainable development, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Bern said the agreement also sent a geopolitical signal, saying that two major European economic powers outside the European Union were strengthening their strategic partnership and backing open markets, reliable rules and close economic cooperation at a time of trade policy fragmentation and uncertainty.

The agreement still needs to be signed. The Swiss ministry said the two countries aim to sign it before the end of 2026, after which domestic approval procedures would be required.