Britain inks $5bn GCC trade deal

Britain and the Gulf Cooperation Council concluded a free trade deal on May 20, ending nearly four years of negotiations and giving the UK its first such pact with the six-nation Gulf bloc. The UK government said the agreement could add £3.7 billion, or about $5 billion, a year to the British economy in the long run. (gov.uk) GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi and UK trade minister Chris Bryant signed a joint statement in London concluding the negotiations. (gov.uk) The deal covers Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. ### Which countries are in the deal, and what exactly was signed? (gov.uk) The Gulf Cooperation Council groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and all six are part of the agreement with Britain. On May 20 in London, Albudaiwi and Bryant signed a joint statement concluding the negotiations for a free trade agreement rather than publishing the final legal text immediately. The UK Department for Business and Trade said negotiations had originally been launched on June 22, 2022. The UK government described the outcome as a concluded trade deal and published a conclusion summary setting out the chapters and provisions agreed. (gov.uk) That summary says the pact spans goods, services, investment and other trade rules, while the detailed treaty text is still to come through the formal legal process. ### How much is the UK saying the agreement is worth? The UK government said on May 20 that the agreement could raise UK gross domestic product by £3.7 billion annually in the long term. CNBC and Euronews reported the same figure, framing it as roughly $5 billion a year and the first deal of its kind between the GCC and a G7 country. (gov.uk) The British government also said the pact could increase trade with the GCC by nearly 20%, according to reporting that cited the Department for Business and Trade. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that both sides called the agreement historic and said it would deepen economic ties between Britain and the Gulf. (gov.uk) ### What changes on tariffs and market access? Euronews reported that the agreement will scrap tariffs on billions of euros worth of British exports. Other reports citing the UK government said the pact removes 93% of GCC tariffs on British goods, cutting duties on products shipped from the UK into Gulf markets. (gov.uk) British business groups moved quickly to point to sector gains. The Food and Drink Federation said the GCC deal was an “exciting opportunity” for UK food and drink exporters, according to media reports published after the announcement. (english.aawsat.com) ### Why does London keep stressing that it is the first G7 country to do this? The UK government said Britain is the first G7 country to secure a trade deal with the GCC, a line repeated by CNBC, Euronews and Gulf-based outlets covering the announcement. That gives London a concrete benchmark to point to as it builds post-Brexit trade ties outside Europe. (euronews.com) Government material published alongside the deal said the agreement fits Britain’s strategy of expanding trade and investment links with an economically important region. That language echoes the UK’s earlier strategic approach paper on a GCC agreement, which described the bloc as both economically and strategically important. (msn.com) ### What happens next before businesses can use it? The UK published a conclusion summary on May 20, but the final treaty text has not yet been released on the government’s trade-deal collection page. The next steps are legal scrubbing, signature of the full agreement and ratification procedures on both sides before the pact can enter into force. (gov.uk) The government’s UK-GCC trade deal collection page is the place where the text, explainer documents and later implementation material are being posted. As of May 22, that page lists the concluded deal and supporting guidance from the Department for Business and Trade. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) (gov.uk)