A historic free-trade deal (FTA) between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to boost the UK economy by £3.7 billion ($5 billion) a year. This historic agreement, which was announced by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on May 20, 2026, is the first time a G7 country has obtained an FTA with the six-member Gulf region.
After full implementation, annual duties totalling more than £580 million will be eliminated. The first phase eliminates the £360 million in levies that are now paid on exports from the UK.
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The demand for imports into the GCC is expected to triple by 2050, making it the UK's tenth-largest trading partner. The current value of bilateral trade is approximately £53 billion.
The GCC is the fourth-largest non-EU export market for the UK, and by 2050, the bloc's import demand is predicted to quadruple.
Starmer's announcement of the FTA is anticipated to improve commercial relations between the United Kingdom and the six-member Gulf bloc, which consists of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.
The FTA contains "first-of-its-kind" GCC pledges on the free movement of data, according to British officials.
After four years of discussions, which came to an end on Wednesday, Starmer praised it as a significant accomplishment for British business and international trade ties.
He declared, "Today's agreement is a huge win for British business." "The Gulf states are important economic partners, and this agreement strengthens that relationship by fostering trust and opening up new trade and investment opportunities."
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The 2,000-page trade agreement will eliminate taxes on a variety of British goods, including luxury vehicles like Rolls-Royce, medical equipment, and food items like chocolate and butter. The majority of tariffs are fixed at five per cent.
Mansoor Abulhoul, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom, posted on X praising a "welcome boost" that will "bring the economies of the UAE and UK even closer at a pivotal inflexion moment for global trade."
He said that it was time to "double down [on the] vital UAE-UK partnership," which has generated £25 billion in commerce and supported thousands of jobs.
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