The UK Agreed a Trade Deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

On 20 May 2026, the UK agreed a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), after years of negotiations.  

This agreement is expected to boost the UK economy by an estimated £3.7 billion every year and increase wages by £1.9 billion annually in the long run, supporting jobs and driving growth across the country.  The UK is also the first G7 country to secure a trade deal with the GCC, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE as member states.

This Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will:

• Remove tariffs on key UK exports including food, medical equipment and advanced manufacturing goods;
• Remove an estimated £580m in duties a year, based on current UK exports to the GCC, once the agreement is fully implemented, with £360 million worth of this to be removed on day one of the agreement entering into force;
• Include first-of-its-kind commitments on the free flow of data, supporting digital trade.

Now that the negotiations are concluded, the UK and the GCC will work together to finalise the legal text of the FTA and produce a usable and legally binding treaty.  This process will end by signing the completed treaty text.  Then, the FTA will be subject to the usual pre-ratification scrutiny procedures, and entry into force will take place once both the UK and GCC member states have completed their ratification processes.  Once the deal has taken effect, businesses and citizens from across the UK will be able to capitalise on the benefits of the agreement.

CTPA will continue working with the UK Government's Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on the implementation of the UK-GCC FTA to ensure businesses maximise its use once it enters into force.  More information on the UK-GCC FTA can be found on the UK Government's announcement page and conclusion summary.