The United Kingdom agreed a sweeping trade deal with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2025, the government announced, a pact Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a national win. "Today’s agreement is a huge win for British business, and for working people, who will feel the benefits in the years ahead through higher wages and more opportunities," Starmer said as ministers set out the terms.
The package, the government said, will be worth £3.7bn to the economy and remove an estimated £580m a year in tariffs from British exports to the six Gulf states once the deal is fully implemented. Tariffs will be eliminated on 93% of British goods sold in the bloc and zero duties will apply across key sectors including food, medical equipment, defence, aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
That shift matters in immediate, concrete terms: exporters into the GCC previously faced a blanket 5% tariff, cheddar cheese was taxed at 6%, chocolate at 15% and biscuits at 10%, while cars carried a 5% levy. The government said the deal offers "£3.7bn worth of opportunities for exporters," will support jobs and make it easier for British firms to expand and partner in the Gulf.
Trade ministers highlighted fresh commercial rights as well as tariff cuts. For the first time the Gulf states have agreed to allow UK firms to store data outside the region, and the agreement guarantees UK services access to business in the six states. Chris Southworth, describing the arrangement as "guaranteed market access, free flow of data, increased mobility," called it "good for growth, good for jobs, good for investment and excellent news for the UK economy." Tom Bradshaw, on agriculture, said: "We think this is probably the best negotiation we had for agriculture. We are really happy."
Context: the pact is the first trade agreement reached between a G7 country and the Gulf Cooperation Council trading bloc and is the third trade deal concluded by Keir Starmer after agreements with India and South Korea. Negotiations took four years, between 2021 and 2025, and were conducted under four different prime ministers, according to the government.
Ministers and supporters framed the deal as proof of a strategic Brexit-era pivot to new markets. Peter Kyle said: "At a time of increased instability, today's announcement sends a clear signal of confidence – giving UK exporters the certainty they need to plan ahead." Rachel Reeves called the deal "proof we are backing British firms to compete and win globally" and added, "This agreement is good for jobs, good for industry and ultimately good for consumers." Supporters point to tariff-free access for foodstuffs such as cheddar, butter and chocolate as immediate wins for UK producers.
But the pact does not close the political argument about values and commerce. Campaigners and some politicians were alarmed the agreement contains no binding human rights chapter. Critics say that absence is a glaring omission given documented abuses in the region. Tom Wills warned the deal "poses serious risks to human rights, labour protections, and climate action" and called the omission "especially alarming given the severe human rights abuses across the Gulf region, including torture, forced labour, discrimination and the silencing of dissent." The Trade Justice Movement echoed that view, saying the deal poses serious risks to human rights, labour protections, and climate action.
That contradiction — broad market access and tariff relief on one hand, and the lack of explicit protections for rights and labour on the other — is the tension at the heart of the agreement. The government insists the commercial benefits will flow quickly; opponents say the UK has traded leverage for easier market access.
Conclusion: the agreement will almost certainly expand trade and offer immediate relief to exporters who previously faced duties on a wide range of British goods, but it also marks a clear choice by the government to prioritise market access and economic opportunity over embedding enforceable human-rights and labour standards in the text. How ministers translate those commercial gains into higher wages and better working conditions at home and abroad will be the measure of whether the deal is a long-term success.
