Swiss Consultation proceedings on the Swiss and UK trade agreement

May 20, 2019 | Legal News

Swiss Consultation proceedings on the Swiss and UK trade agreement

Switzerland values its trade partners. Brexit impacts the trade relations with Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Council needs to negotiate new bilateral agreements with the United Kingdom; separate from the ones with the European Union. Note that Switzerland is not a member of the EU. The UK is 6thin terms of Switzerland's largest export markets. Goods exported to the UK from Switzerland have a rough net worth of CHF8.8 billion.

The Federal council has commenced the consultation proceedings on May 15, 2019. Switzerland and the UK on February 11, 2019 signed a trade agreement that adopts the obligations and rights in trade and economic relations. The relations the two countries signed on are similar to the ones present in the bilateral agreements between the European Union and Switzerland.

The British International Trade Secretary of State, Liam Fox, and Swiss Federal Councilor, Guy Parmelin, signed on the trade agreement between the two countries. The agreement is adopted to accommodate future discussions that develop the mutual trade relations.
The governments and heads of states of members states of the EU have made an extension to the execution of Brexit. The new date is October 31st. Despite the extension of this date, there remains a chance that the UK will not sign any withdrawal agreements as it leaves the EU. Such a situation creates a trade vacuum in trade and economic relations between the countries. Switzerland decided to sign this agreement in February to prevent the occurrence of such a vacuum in their economy.
Swiss and UK trade agreement Consultation
Swiss UK trade agreement
The Swiss Federal council intends to use the agreement only on an interim basis which is a provision for relations in the near future. The Federal Council consulted the pertinent Swiss parliamentary committees for their approval in the trade agreement. The Federal council got the approval.

The Federal Council intends to run the bilateral relations consultation up to September 5th2019. In the autumn, the Federal Council the presents the report agreements to Parliament.



Source: https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/me...

Legal disclaimer. This article does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. The article should be used for informational purposes only.

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