Liam Fox’s claim to have secured a post-Brexit trade deal with Switzerland of “huge economic importance” has been sharply criticised – because it fails to protect about half of current commerce.

The agreement – one of the few successfully ‘rolled over’, with the scheduled departure from the EU just 16 days away – does not cover services, a committee of peers has warned.

“Most trade in services, which make up 52 per cent of all UK-Swiss trade, is not covered by the deal,” its report says.

Trade with Switzerland, which is outside the EU but participates in its single market, is worth about £31bn a year to the UK economy, making a rollover a key government priority.

Signing the deal in a blaze of publicity last month, Dr Fox said: “This is of huge economic importance to UK businesses so I'm delighted to be here in Bern ensuring continuity for 15,000 British exporters.”

But the report, by the House of Lords EU Committee also highlights that:

Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Show all 15 1 /15 Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Pork There will be tariffs on pork in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Cheese There will be tariffs in place on some cheeses including €22.10/100kg of cheddar, €19.10/100kg of processed cheese and €18.60/100kg on some blue cheeses Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Milk There will be no tariffs in place on milk Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Car Parts There will be no tariffs on car parts imported from Europe PA Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Cars However finished cars will face tariffs of 10.6% Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Alcoholic drinks There will be no tariffs on alcoholic drinks - except on some rums due to ingredients used in their distilling process Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Beef There will be tariffs on beef in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Fish There will be no tariffs on many types of fish including cod, haddock, salmon and sea bass Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Fruit and vegetables There will be no tariffs on almost all fruit and vegetables Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Chocolate There will be no tariffs on chocolate or other cocoa products Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Poultry There will be tariffs on poultry in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Ceramics There will be some tariffs in place on ceramis Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Steel There will be no tariffs on steel Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Coal There will be no tariffs on coal Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Lamb/Mutton There will be tariffs on the meat of sheep in order to protect British farmers Getty

* The deal risks new limits on the export of agricultural products from the UK to Switzerland – for example, a possible ban on organic products.

* Switzerland may no longer recognise UK businesses as “authorised economic operators”, eligible for lighter controls at the Swiss border.

Lord Boswell, the committee’s Conservative chairman, urged MPs and peers to investigate the possible weaknesses before ratifying the Swiss deal.

“Trade with Switzerland matters. It’s our 10th biggest trading partner globally and the third largest of non-EU States,” he said.

“We have a large trade surplus in services with Switzerland, including financial services and professional business services. So it’s important we get our future trading relationship right.”

The agreement signed by Dr Fox “in many aspects differs significantly from the EU-Swiss agreements it replaces,” Lord Boswell added.

The report points out that Switzerland is only the UK’s 15th largest partner in goods trade – but the 7th largest for services.

“The UK has a large trade surplus in services, overwhelmingly made up of financial services (£1.95bn) and other business services (£6.5bn),” it states.

Dr Fox has run into criticism because his department for international trade has struck “continuity agreements" with just seven of the 69 countries and regions with which the EU has trade deals.

They give businesses “a range of preferential market access opportunities”, including cheaper import tariffs and duties and more relaxed “rules of origin” requirements.

The deals also deliver “enhanced market access” for services, “public procurement opportunities” and “improved protections for intellectual property”.

In 2017, Dr Fox confidently predicted the deals, accounting for around 11 per cent of the UK's trade, would all be ready for “a second after midnight” on Brexit day.