![\"UK](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/The-UK-and-Switzerland-have-signed-a-services-trade-deal.jpg\")
\t\tThe pact is the latest in a flurry of trade deals signed by the UK\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tMonday 13 July 2026 3:04 pm
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tMonday 13 July 2026 3:05 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tThe pact is the latest in a flurry of trade deals signed by the UK\t<\/p>\n
The UK and Switzerland have inked a new free trade deal that ministers say will boost Britain\u2019s services economy by some \u00a35.2bn a year \u2013 despite talks breaking down just weeks ago to such an extent that both parties were \u201cshouting at each other\u201d.<\/p>\n
The agreement is the largest the UK has negotiated since it left the European Union, and will extend an already-existing policy allowing Swiss and British services professionals visa-free access to their corresponding market. <\/p>\n
UK travellers will also be granted surcharge-free international roaming as part of the same deal, and an agreement signed in parallel means they will simultaneously be granted access to Switzerland\u2019s passport e-gates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not been easy,\u201d trade minister Chris Bryant said, adding: \u201cThere were moments when we were pretty much shouting at each other across the table to try and land the best deal for both of our two countries. Fundamentally, we wanted to do a single, simple thing, which is dramatically improve the opportunity for British businesses and Swiss businesses to do trade with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trade deal extends visa-free travel arrangement<\/p>\n
Since 2019, Britain and Switzerland had agreed a temporary agreement allowing firms to send staff to and from the respective countries without having to navigate thorny visa processes. But the deal inked on Monday makes that agreement permanent, while also extending it to Swiss residents who originally come from other countries.<\/p>\n
The agreement is the latest in a string of free trade pacts struck by the UK in the wake of its departure from the European Union, but the first to focus solely on services as opposed to goods. In the past year, ministers have agreed terms with the likes of India<\/a>, South Korea <\/a>and the Gulf Cooperation Council.<\/p>\n The UK was also the first country sign an agreement with the United States after Donald Trump\u2019s swingeing \u2018liberation day\u2019 tariffs, which brought down trade barriers between the two countries. <\/p>\n