Guy Parmelin negotiating a trade deal with Great Britain in Bern

Switzerland and Britain gave the go-ahead on Monday in Berne for negotiations on the further development of the existing bilateral trade agreement. The first round of negotiations will be held in London in May.

Business Secretary Guy Parmelin met UK Trade Secretary Kimmy Badnoch in Bern on Monday. With the meeting, the two sides started negotiations on further development of the bilateral trade agreement. The two also talked about other possibilities for cooperation.

In a brief media appearance in Bern, Badnock spoke of great opportunities if the deal improved. Jay Parmelin, president of the World Bank Union, said he hoped the negotiations would conclude soon.

Currently, trade relations between Switzerland and Great Britain are regulated in the 2019 Bilateral Trade Agreement. According to the WBF, this guarantees the reciprocal rights and obligations that the two countries had before Brexit.

The existing contractual relationship must now be adapted to current needs and further developed in the direction of a commercial agreement that is as comprehensive as possible.

The United Kingdom is one of Switzerland’s ten most important commodity trading partners. The volume of bilateral commodity trade will be around CHF13 billion in 2022. If precious metals trade is taken into account, the volume will be CHF20.6 billion.

When it comes to services, the UK is the third most important trading partner of Switzerland with a volume of around CHF 23 billion.

Only two years have passed since the last agreement between Switzerland and Britain. Now, however, the existing rules must be adapted to the new post-Brexit relationship. During negotiations, it should be clarified how to deal with recognition of educational qualifications and financial markets. Tariff cancellation will also be discussed.