The International Trade Committee today publishes correspondence
from the Chair of the Committee, MP, to the Secretary of
State for International Trade, Rt Hon Dr Liam FoxMP.
The letter has been sent following an announcement by the
Department for International Trade last month that the
UK Government and the Swiss Federal Council have “approved the
transition of a trade agreement”, later confirmed by the Secretary
of State in answer to a parliamentary question. The
letter raises questions about what exactly has been agreed, and
concerns about whether the agreement will allow the UK to
continue to trade with Switzerland after Brexit on the same basis
that it does as a member of the EU.
The EU is party to approximately 40 regional or bilateral free
trade agreements (FTAs), covering more than 60 countries, to
which the UK will cease to be a party after Brexit. The
Government has stated that it intends to maintain the current
position by replicating the rights that the UK presently enjoys
under these agreements. The Minister for Trade Policy, MP, admitted to the
Committee recently that not all these agreements would be “rolled
over” in time for Brexit.
Commenting on the letter, Committee Chair MP said:
“My Committee has consistently warned that the Government must
give businesses, consumers and trading partners confidence that
existing arrangements will continue after March 2019. Unless an
agreement is reached with our trading partners in the coming
months, a significant economic price will have to be paid.
“Switzerland’s access to the Single Market requires it to accept
both freedom of movement and a significant proportion of EU law.
It is based not only on a trade agreement eliminating tariffs but
also on a myriad of other trade-related agreements. The Secretary
of State must clarify which aspects of this arrangement are
replicated in this agreement with Switzerland. Has free movement
been accepted as part of the agreement to roll-over? Does the
agreement allow UK-based firms to continue trading into
Switzerland on the same basis as they do today? And what about
all the other 39 or so existing EU trade agreements?
“Blithe assurances of progress will simply not suffice as the
clock ticks down to Brexit on 29 March. While this announcement
may be welcome, the Department's heavily caveated press release
only underlines that the most basic questions regarding the UK’s
future trading status remain unanswered. We look forward to a
prompt reply from the Secretary of State, and my Committee will
also be seeking clarity from him on this and other matters when
he next appears before us, on 6 February.”
