UK concludes trade agreement with six Gulf Cooperation Council states
The Facts
- The UK has concluded a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- The UK and GCC agreement is described as the first trade deal between the GCC and a G7 country.
- The UK government says the deal would be worth about £3.7 billion a year to the UK economy in the long run.
- The government says the agreement will remove an estimated £580 million a year in tariffs or duties on current UK exports to the GCC once it is fully implemented.
- Products and sectors cited by the UK as benefiting from tariff removal include food exports, medical equipment and advanced manufacturing, with examples including cheddar cheese, butter and chocolate.
- The agreement includes GCC commitments on the free flow of data, which the UK government says will make it easier for companies to store and process data outside the region.
- Negotiations on the UK-GCC trade deal had been underway for about four years before the agreement was concluded.
- Rights groups criticized the agreement for lacking detail on human rights and labour protections, and Reuters reported there were no changes to human rights or environmental protections under the deal.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- The deal is being treated as a meaningful economic and strategic milestone: a first GCC-G7 agreement that the UK says would expand market access, cut tariffs on current exports, and deliver sizable long-run gains to the UK economy.
- They split on
- Whether the story is mainly about the upside of deeper trade ties and lower barriers, or about the cost of locking in those gains without stronger human rights, labour, and environmental protections in the agreement.
Analytical frames for this storyTap to explore
Context
Who are the Gulf states covered by the deal?
The agreement is with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates GOV.WALES,Reuters.
What changes does the deal make for UK trade?
The UK says the agreement will remove about £580 million a year in tariffs on current exports to the GCC once fully implemented, covering areas such as food, medical equipment and advanced manufacturing; examples cited include cheddar cheese, butter and chocolate BBC,gov.uk,Investing.com UK.
What concerns remain about the agreement?
Rights groups said the published details do not spell out human rights and labour protections, and Reuters reported that the deal does not change human rights or environmental protections BBC,London South East.
View all 69 sources
Wire services (6)
Independent coverage (50)
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DT NewsBoost for UK- Bahrain trade and investment | THE DAILY TRIBU...
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Bloomberg BusinessUK and Gulf States Hail Trade Deal After Four Years of Talks
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Kuwait TimesGCC, UK clinch trade deal - Shakir Reshamwala
Saudi GazetteUK-GCC free trade deal set to boost Saudi-British trade and ...
Daily BusinessUK seals £3.7bn trade deal with six Gulf states - Daily Busi...
BBCUK agrees £3.7bn trade deal with six Gulf states
Daily SabahBritain strikes $5 billion trade deal with Gulf states amid ...
The Gulf TodayBritain clinches $5 billion GCC trade deal
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ExBulletinThe UK and the Gulf have signed a historic trade deal worth ...
YahooGovernment hails trade deal with Gulf states 'worth £3.7bn a...
dpa InternationalUK government hails trade deal with Gulf states
Middle East EyeUK signs trade agreement with Gulf states
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