UK-Gulf Cooperation Council negotiations

The UK is in negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) on the agreement of a new FTA. There have been four rounds of negotiations towards the signing of a new FTA, and these negotiations have so far covered 23 policy areas.

These FTA negotiations are coming under particular scrutiny for their human rights implications. The EU has not been able to agree an FTA with the GCC on account of human rights concerns, and some in the UK feel that if this the EU’s position then the UK should also be thinking very carefully about the human rights implications of further engaging with the GCC.

UK-GCC Trade News

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16 Jul 2023

Few businesses will benefit from CPTPP deal which carries environmental costs

16 Jul 2023

Government assessment suggests the deal may only grow the UK economy by 0.08% but requires the UK to drop key environmental commitments as part of the deal including those aimed at reducing the production of palm oil, a key driver of deforestation in Asia.