UK-SWISS TALKS RESTART
THE UK AND SWITZERLAND
ARE IN TALKS AGAIN…
If you’ve been following the UK negotiating new deals after Brexit, you’ll know that the Swiss talks are an important target.
The UK is keen to agree a new deal with Switzerland as the two nations are such important trading partners – Switzerland is the UK’s 7th biggest export market.
And the great news is that they have been back around the negotiating table…
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
After leaving the EU the UK has been working to agree trade deals all over the world.
The simple way to think of it is that, before Brexit, a lot of nations had deals with the EU, but not directly with the UK.
So Brexit meant that the UK needed to sign new deals that replaced the old EU relationships.
Switzerland is one such case and the talks are currently focussed on developing their free trade agreement – negotiations that would also need to cover movement of workers.
Given Switzerland is the UK’s 10th largest trading partner and bilateral trade is worth £51 billion, the deal is very important but also very complex.
SO COULD IT MEAN SKI INSTRUCTOR JOBS?
Naturally at Peak Leaders we are very keen to see some kind of mobility for workers – because that would be great for the ski industry and great for our trainees.
Recently the UK and the EU have been discussing a Youth Mobility deal to create time-limited visas for young people to work.
So this could involve a solution along those lines.
The UK and Switzerland already have a deal in place but it focusses on trading goods. So a new agreement about services and investment is a priority.
But what we know for certain is that a fundamental part of any trade deal would be rules about mobility of workers.
So we will wait with baited breath to see if this – the fifth round of negotiations – will lead to something that gives British ski instructors access to work in Swiss ski resorts…
WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?
Well, first of all trade deals are not quick – they can take years.
And even when they are finalised, all agreements need to be ratified by both governments.
Plus, whilst the UK is desperate to avoid being accused of allowing European migration, the Swiss are also having an ongoing political debate about immigration. And any movement of people will be a two-way street.
So both sides are cautious about being seen to open the door to any kind of ‘uncontrolled’ immigration threatening domestic jobs.
BUT…
With all that said, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic.
The new UK-Germany deal is supposed to be signed and delivered in just a couple of months.
So governments can move very fast when they want to.
Switzerland is also not in the EU – so the UK Government cannot be accused of rowing-back on Brexit by allowing Swiss workers to access visas.
On top of that, the Swiss are negotiating with the EU own a new deal – and that isn’t really going well. A while ago the Swiss walked away from the negotiating table.
A deal with the UK would be good political news for Swiss voters, but also remind the EU that Switzerland is busy in other markets.
THERE ARE A LOT OF POSITIVES.
We have said it before, but the fact negotiations are in progress is a positive. After all, the status quo cannot be changed until the talks are underway.
And if we have learned anything from negotiations like these, it is that everything seems to happen very slowly, then very quickly.
For example in 2020 the UK and Switzerland suddenly announced the Service Mobility Agreement. It was an agreement to allow businesses from one nation to work in the other for short periods. A massive step forward that dropped almost out of the blue.
And as the Swiss already have a framework for short-term foreign work permits, adding the UK to the eligible list would seem an easy change.
Whatever happens, we will update you here and on our social media as soon as things are announced.
So follow us and we will keep you posted…