The UK has concluded a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — as friends and valued partners.

The UK’s ties with the Gulf are deep, historic, and future-focused. This deal is founded upon our shared commitment to open trade, mutual prosperity, and the long-term economic success of all our nations.

The Government recognises the challenges UK businesses are facing as a result of the situation in the Middle East and is already taking action to support firms through this period of uncertainty, including supporting critical supply chains, strengthening domestic steel production, and boosting consumer confidence.

Ministers are working closely with business groups and industry leaders to understand the pressures facing industry and, as the situation develops, will be agile in responding.

Today's agreement with the GCC supports that wider, coordinated response — providing the legal certainty and long-term stability that businesses tell us they need to plan, invest and grow with confidence. Alongside domestic action through the Industrial Strategy and Small Business Plan, this deal forms part of a coherent strategy to build economic resilience, and support long-term growth in trade and exports.

This deal is one of the most ambitious the GCC has ever concluded and marks the first FTA it has concluded with a G7 nation. It reflects and strengthens the deep, long-standing partnership between our nations, built on decades of shared commitment to open trade, mutual prosperity, and the long-term economic success of all our nations. The GCC is equivalent to the UK’s 10th largest trading partner[1], with total trade between the UK and GCC valued at £53 billion in 2025[2]. This deal is estimated to grow trade between us by almost 20%[3], supporting economic growth and putting money in people’s pockets. The deal could add an estimated £3.7 billion annually to the UK economy in the long run when compared to 2040 projections and £1.9 billion a year to real wages[4]. When combined with the India FTA, the two agreements are estimated to add over £8 billion a year in real terms[5], helping to drive forward our Modern Industrial Strategy.

This agreement responds directly to the priorities raised by UK businesses and includes measures that will meaningfully improve the ease of doing business with the GCC.

As the second-largest services exporter in the world[6], with strengths in sectors such as financial and professional business services, the UK is well matched to support the Gulf’s ambitions to diversify their economies. This FTA gives UK firms the tools and certainty they need to expand their presence across the region. This includes locking-in market access across a broad range of sectors for our services firms. This will ensure that UK businesses are provided guarantees to be able to trade on these terms, reducing the risk of future restrictions that could impact their operations. This includes limitations on foreign ownership or requirements to set up a base in the GCC to supply their services in the region. We are also providing greater regulatory transparency in telecoms, including authorisation and licensing processes, ensuring businesses can access GCC regulations and that regulatory processes are fair and efficient.

The GCC has taken its most ambitious commitments on business mobility to date, which will improve consistency and transparency of visa requirements and processes, and provide increased certainty on the level of access businesses can enjoy. This will support UK firms to deliver services in the region, in support of the GCC’s diversification plans.

For the first time, the GCC has committed not to impose disproportionate or unjustified requirements on firms to store their data locally in the bloc, giving UK tech firms greater confidence that they will not face costly new burdens. The far-reaching digital provisions in this agreement will drive innovation and support the use of emerging digital technologies through UK-GCC cooperation. This will enable both sides to take advantage of opportunities when new products and services emerge, including in areas such as artificial intelligence, paperless trade and clean energy.

For goods exporters, the deal will make trade cheaper, faster, and more predictable, cutting red tape, reducing and removing tariffs, and simplifying customs processes. The deal will eliminate duties worth an estimated £580 million a year on UK goods exported to the GCC based on existing trade once fully implemented.

£360 million worth of these estimated duties will be removed on day one of the agreement entering into force[7]. After a decade, 90% of GCC tariff lines will have tariffs removed, unlocking tariff‑free access for around 93% of UK goods exports based on existing trade. Two‑thirds of UK exports will enter the GCC tariff‑free immediately after the deal enters into force, delivering a major boost for UK manufacturers, food and high‑value brands[8]. The UK is also liberalising tariffs on all current GCC exports from day one under this agreement, supporting supply chains and helping UK businesses to reduce input costs. The deal excludes pork, chicken, and eggs from tariff liberalisation.

This deal removes tariffs on British exports, including automotives, aerospace, and food and drink such as smoked salmon and baked goods. UK businesses will benefit from tailored rules of origin, digital trade provisions such as paperless trading, a ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions and provisions allowing UK exporters, should they wish, to complete and self-certify their own origin documentation after initial registration. This was a top ask from businesses, helping to remove the often costly and time-consuming requirements which often deter smaller firms from exporting.

Investment is a core pillar of our growth mission, and this deal lays the foundation for even deeper UK-GCC investment ties, protecting investment on both sides and driving growth for years to come. The GCC is already a key source of inward investment into the UK, with total Foreign Direct Investments, portfolio, derivatives and other investment assets and liabilities between the UK and Gulf Arabian countries – which include the GCC nations, as well as Yemen and Iraq[9] – amounting to £485 billion in 2024[10]. UK investors from a range of sectors also have a long history of investing in the Gulf. In this deal we have agreed comprehensive levels of protections for UK and GCC investors and their investments, ensuring they will receive fair and non-discriminatory treatment that will give investors the confidence to make long-term investment decisions. It will also provide transparent, independent legal recourse to resolve disputes if treaty obligations are breached. This will help ensure that projects in both regions have the certainty they need to succeed.

Within this FTA, we have also agreed a package of commitments on environment, labour, women’s economic empowerment, and animal welfare that go further than anything the GCC has agreed before in an FTA, opening new avenues for collaboration on shared priorities. These include commitments to address barriers that are specific to women in trade, as well as upholding the labour standards that underpin fair competition for businesses on both sides.

The UK will continue to work closely with our Gulf partners – across trade, investment, defence and security and to build prosperity across all our nations. We will now go through the steps to prepare this treaty for signature, and I look forward to updating the House further on this agreement in due course.

[1] UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted - Office for National Statistics

[2] UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted - Office for National Statistics

[3] DBT Modelling

[4] DBT Modelling

[5] DBT Modelling

[6] UNCTAD

[7] Duty estimates are based on GCC import figures from ITC Trademap, using 2024 data for all countries except Oman, which uses 2023 data. Duties are calculated using the GCC common external tariff and country-specific tariffs as of 2022. For countries where HS6-level data is used (Oman, Qatar and the UAE), the lowest MFN tariff within the HS6 subheading is applied to provide a conservative estimate.

[8] Estimates based on GCC import figures from ITC Trademap, using 2024 data for all countries except Oman, which uses 2023 data.

[9] Yemen and Iraq are not a part of this FTA.

[10] ONS Geographical breakdown of the UK international investment position, The Pink Book. Gulf Arabian in this instance refers to GCC members states, in addition to Yemen and Iraq. Due to data limitations, it is not possible to calculate the value of GCC assets in the UK collectively.

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