Switzerland And Britain Pursue Renewed Free Trade Agreement

5/15/2023 2:19:13 PM

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Switzterland wants to negotiate a free trade agreement with post-Brexit Britain. © Keystone / Peter Schneider

Negotiations for a new free trade agreement (FTA) between Switzerland and Britain will start later this month, according to a joint statement.

This content was published on May 15, 2023 May 15, 2023 swissinfo.ch/mga

Swiss Economic Minister Guy Parmelin met with his British counterpart, Kemi Badenoch, in Bern on Monday to give negotiations the green light from May 22.

+ lofty ambitions for 'innovative' swiss-british financial services deal

The two countries have also been negotiating ways to boost the trade of cross-border financial services .

An existing stop-gap trade treaty between the two countries was thrashed out in 2019 to keep many measures in place that existed when Britain was part of the European Union.

This treaty was largely based on the provisions of the Swiss-EU FTA signed in 1972.

That treaty is outdated, according to the British Department for Business and Trade, because it was signed“before the advent of the home computer or the internet – and does not cover services, investment, digital or data”.

"Prize on offer"

“As two of the world's leading service economies, there's a huge prize on offer to both the UK and Switzerland by updating our trading relationship to reflect the strength of our companies working in areas ranging from finance and legal, to accountancy and architecture,” said Badenoch on Monday.

MENAFN15052023000210011054ID1106245774

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.