(May 19): The UK is set to finalise a long-awaited trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Wednesday, according to Saudi Arabian state media, deepening its ties with the oil-rich nations at a time of rising geopolitical tension and economic pressures.
British officials will sign a statement concluding the negotiations for the free trade agreement in London, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Tuesday, citing the secretary-general of the GCC.
It will mark an end to four years of talks with the group, which also includes the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. UK ministers had hoped they could complete the deal before the end of last year, after Chancellor Rachel Reeves visited Saudi Arabia in October.
“The signing of the FTA comes after a series of intensive rounds of negotiations and meetings between both sides, reflecting their shared commitment to bolstering the GCC-British strategic partnership and elevating economic, commercial, and investment ties,” the secretary-general, Jasem Albudaiwi, said, according to SPA.
A UK official confirmed that ministers from the Department for Business and Trade would be meeting with GCC counterparts in London on Wednesday, but said it was not yet certain that FTA talks would be concluded then.
Negotiations are ongoing and are at an advanced stage, another UK official said. The officials declined to be named discussing sensitive matters.
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The negotiations have dragged because of the complexities in dealing with a six-nation bloc. Countries including the UAE held out on certain issues related to investment clauses, according to people close to the talks,. The US-Israeli war with Iran from late February, which saw the Islamic Republic retaliate by firing thousands of drones and missiles against the GCC states, also stalled discussions, the people said.
The development will be a reprieve for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is keen to prove his government is getting on with day-to-day work even as he faces a potential leadership challenge in the aftermath of a bruising round of local elections.
Britain’s carmakers and food and drink manufacturers stand to benefit from lower tariffs on their exports, as demand for UK goods tends to be strong in the GCC. Successive UK governments have also tried to pull in more investments from the GCC nations, whose sovereign wealth funds manage around US$5 trillion of assets.
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The FTA could boost the GCC economies in the long run. The war and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz have deterred tourists and business travellers, while forcing them to lower oil and natural gas production.
The six nations are trying to diversify from petroleum into areas such as artificial intelligence, financial services and logistics. Cheaper access to British agricultural exports may aid their efforts to improve food security.
UK businesses are likely to welcome the deal, which the UK has previously said will add between 0.06% and 0.11% to long-term gross domestic product. Yet trade unions and other non-governmental organisations have opposed it on the grounds of the human rights records of countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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