UK and Switzerland agree £5.2bn services trade deal

The UK and Switzerland have signed a wide-ranging trade agreement that cuts border friction and maintains pharmaceutical patents, targeting £5.2bn in additional annual services exports.

Services form the core of the existing £30bn annual trading relationship, making Switzerland the UK’s sixth-largest market in the sector. The UK’s Department for Business and Trade expects the new terms to significantly boost financial and business services over the long run.

To facilitate this trade, both sides are introducing 90-day visa-free travel for services professionals delivering contracts. British nationals will also gain access to automated e-gates at Swiss airports, beginning with exit checks in Zurich later this year before expanding to Basel and Geneva next year. Mobile phone roaming charges between the two countries will also be scrapped.

Beyond services, the deal covers continued terms of trade in goods such as cars, art, jewellery and photographic materials. However, the pharmaceutical resolution carries particular weight for investors and healthcare supply chains.

The agreement maintains existing patent protections, settling a domestic debate over drug pricing. The UK government had faced pressure from its health department to shorten patent lengths, a move intended to give the NHS quicker access to cheaper generic medicines.

Richard Torbett, chief executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, noted both countries “made explicit their commitment to maintain a strong and proportionate intellectual property regime”. Mark Samuels, chief executive of Medicines UK, which represents the suppliers of 9 out of 10 NHS medicines, said the deal ensured “safeguarding the NHS’s access to affordable generic medicines by maintaining current terms of protection in the UK domestic system”.

Business groups welcomed the reduction in travel friction. Chris Hayward, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, called the deal “gold standard”, noting that reducing border delays allows “business travellers more time to do business”. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, said it recognised “real opportunities for growth” in services, which she described as the UK’s “super power”.

Keir Starmer described the agreement as the “sixth landmark deal” of his two-year premiership, alongside agreements with the US, India, South Korea and the Gulf states. “British firms will find it easier to sell their expertise in one of our most important markets in Europe, supporting jobs and investment here at home,” the prime minister said.