Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council: Negotiations Update

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Mr Douglas Alexander)]

Growth is the No. 1 mission of this Government. Central to growing our economy and ensuring working people in every community feel the benefits of that growth, is an expansion of free trade agreements with strategic partners.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade announced the Government’s intention to deliver the UK’s FTA negotiations programme in July. Negotiations with the Gulf Co-operation Council resumed on 24 September. Since then, the UK has held ongoing virtual and in-person negotiations. This included a GCC delegation visiting London during the week of 21 October and a UK delegation visiting Riyadh during the week of 11 November.

To progress negotiations, I had productive discussions with counterparts in Saudi Arabia while attending the 2024 future investment initiative in Riyadh. This was ahead of the Secretary of State for Business and Trade’s visit to Qatar later in the week to attend the GCC Trade Ministers’ meeting on 31 October. This event provided a good opportunity to discuss key issues with Ministers from all member states and the shared ambition to move negotiations forward at pace.

Talks throughout the autumn have continued to be constructive, with good momentum from the GCC, which has enabled further treaty text to be agreed. The focus from both sides is on achieving a modern and commercially meaningful agreement.

A mutually beneficial FTA between the UK and the GCC will deliver economic growth, higher wages and new investment. A deal will deliver targeted growth that could increase bilateral trade by 16%, potentially adding an extra £8.6 billion a year to trade between the UK and GCC countries in the long run. This £8.6 billion is on top of the £57.4 billion worth of trade that we already have.

The negotiation is progressing at pace and good progress is being made in the following areas:

Services, investment and digital

Detailed technical discussions have been held across these areas, narrowing down outstanding issues in the text and setting out expectations for market access schedules. Constructive discussions have been had around mobility to better support the movement of business persons between the UK and the GCC. Investment remains a key area of interest for both sides, recognising the levels of inward and outward investment between the UK and GCC countries. A digital chapter, alongside provisions relating to innovation, reflect the shared ambition for a future facing deal, that can respond to the changes that technology will continue to bring to the global economy.

Goods

The aim of negotiators’ discussions on goods market access is achieving commercially meaningful outcomes. This is an important area for both sides, and we continue to press for further progress on key UK interests and look forward to building on these discussions in the coming weeks. We also made good progress in technical discussions on rules of origin and trade remedies and are working constructively with the GCC to narrow down outstanding issues in the text.

Other areas of note

Negotiators continued to have constructive discussions on areas of sustainable trade, including environment and labour, as well as making further progress through negotiations on disputes and transparency.

I value the important role that Parliament plays in the scrutiny of the Government’s ambitious trade agenda. We will continue to ensure that Parliament is appropriately updated while also ensuring we protect our negotiating position.

[HCWS333]