Deepening key trade and investment links beyond Brexit will be even more vital against a backdrop of COVID-19 to support economic recovery, according to a new joint paper by TheCityUK and economiesuisse.
The two organisations have collaborated on behalf of the financial and related professional services industries of the UK and Switzerland to set out a template for a next generation trading relationshipbetween the UK and Switzerland now the UK has left the EU.
The paper, ‘Future-proofing the UK-Swiss financial and related professional services relationship’, calls for a trading relationship based on the mutual recognition of regulation and not the EU principles of equivalence. It urges the UK and Switzerland, as hosts to Europe’s largest financial centres, build closer strategic ties, building on their shared approach and outlook to financial regulation, to better coordinate shared objectives in global regulatory standard setting.
The new trade relationship should seek to be a template for the future next generation of trade and investment deals by covering 21st century policy issues such as data and cyber security.
Given the shared interests of Switzerland and the UK and the profile of bilateral trade and investment, this agreement could be achieved swiftly and be a win-win for both countries.
Miles Celic, Chief Executive Officer, TheCityUK, said, “To meet the significant social and economic challenges arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical we keep markets open and trade flowing through expanding our international trade and investment links. We have an opportunity here to set a new gold standard for global services trade between two sovereign nations. These relationships will underpin our collective responses to the crisis help fuel global economic recovery over the long term.
“The UK and Switzerland are natural partners for financial and related professional services trade. As the first and third largest net exporters of these services globally, both countries are committed to developing high-quality global standards and maintaining open and efficient markets.
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