UK Ready to Sign the GCC Free Trade Deal Within Weeks as Britain and the UAE Begin Work on a Bilateral Economic Partnership

2026-09-02

The United Kingdom is ready to sign its free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) within weeks, UK Minister of State for Trade Anas Sarwar told The National in Dubai on 2026-09-01, and preparatory work on a separate bilateral agreement between the UK and the UAE has already begun. The GCC deal, negotiated from June 2022 to May 2026, is expected to lift UK-Gulf trade by 19.8% in the long run, adding about USD 21 billion (GBP 15.5 billion) a year to a relationship worth GBP 53 billion (USD 71 billion) in 2025. The UAE is Britain’s largest trading partner in the Gulf, with GBP 25 billion (USD 33.5 billion, about AED 123 billion) of trade in 2025, more than 10,000 British businesses and over 200,000 British nationals in the country. For companies based in the UAE the practical message is simple: preferential access to the British market is now a matter of months of procedure rather than years of negotiation, and positioning for it should start now.

What the trade minister said in Dubai

Anas Sarwar was appointed UK Minister of State for Trade on 2026-07-23 in the government of Prime Minister Andy Burnham. He chose Saudi Arabia and the UAE for his first trip outside Europe in the role, leaving the Emirates on 2026-09-02. “We’re ready to sign the GCC deal,” he said. “We’re ready to start the preparatory work on what a bilateral agreement would look like, between the UK and the UAE.” On timing he was specific: “I want this to be discussions that are talking about weeks rather than months. Certainly don’t want to be discussions that are going on for years.”

In the UAE the minister met Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, in what he described as a positive and energetic meeting focused on turning the relationship into new deals, and visited DP World for talks on investment and infrastructure. He also addressed the question on many boardroom agendas during the conflict around Iran and the disruption to shipping near the Strait of Hormuz: “The UAE is a good place to do business. It was yesterday, it was a year ago, and it is today, and it will be tomorrow, and it will be next year, and it will be into the future.” His advice to companies considering the region was not to put investment on hold: “This place is working, it’s a good place to do business, it’s a good place to build those partnerships, and we don’t need to wait.”

The UK-GCC agreement in numbers

Negotiations between the UK and the six GCC states (the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman) were launched on 22 June 2022 and concluded in London on 20 May 2026, when Sir Chris Bryant, then UK Minister of State for Trade Policy, and GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi confirmed the end of talks. The UK is the first G7 country to conclude a comprehensive trade agreement with the bloc. The key figures published by the UK government are summarised below.

Sector by sector, the UK government’s conclusion summary lists full tariff elimination on passenger cars (90% of current exports duty-free on entry into force, electric vehicles and batteries phased over 10 years), immediate zero tariffs on turbojets and aerospace parts (currently 5%), and the removal of duties on cheddar cheese (6%), chocolate (up to 15%), biscuits (up to 10%) and Scottish smoked salmon (5%). Medical devices, surgical instruments and radiological equipment become tariff-free once the agreement is fully implemented. Beyond goods, the text contains the first anti-corruption provisions ever agreed by the GCC, binding commitments on financial data, digital trade rules that prohibit unjustified data localisation and customs duties on electronic transmissions, an annex on the recognition of professional qualifications, legally binding government procurement commitments with the UAE and Bahrain, and a dedicated chapter for small and medium-sized enterprises.

From conclusion to entry into force: what happens next

“Concluded” does not mean “in force”. The legal text is being finalised, after which the agreement will be signed and then ratified by the UK and by each GCC member state. On the British side the sequence is published: a report by the Trade and Agriculture Commission, a report under section 42 of the Agriculture Act 2020, parliamentary scrutiny under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, and implementing legislation. In July 2026 the UAE Ambassador to the UK, Mansoor Abulhoul, told The National that ratification across the bloc was likely to complete during 2027. No signing date and no entry-into-force date have been announced; the minister’s “weeks rather than months” refers to signature, not to the start of tariff cuts.

UK-UAE: the bilateral track

The second announcement matters as much as the first for anyone doing business in the Emirates. Mr Sarwar said the GCC deal should be the foundation for deeper relationships with individual Gulf countries, starting with the UAE: “I want to also start the work of an important bilateral relationship between ourselves and the UAE, and we’re not going to wait. Those conversations have already begun. Partnerships have already begun.” The groundwork predates his visit. Days after the Burnham government took office on 2026-07-20, Ambassador Abulhoul said the “building blocks” were in place for a UK-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), pointing to data, digital trade and recognition of professional services as areas where “the two countries’ economies are more advanced and we could go further and faster”.

The bilateral numbers explain the priority:

• UK-UAE trade of GBP 25 billion (USD 33.5 billion) in 2025, which makes the UAE Britain’s largest partner in the Gulf and its 20th largest globally;
• more than GBP 30 billion of investment commitments into Britain under the UAE-UK Sovereign Investment Partnership since 2021, up from an initial GBP 10 billion;
• the UK as the largest holder of investment stock in the UAE, according to the British government;
• more than 10,000 British businesses operating in the Emirates and more than 200,000 British residents.

The minister wants capital to move in both directions. For investment into Britain he named renewables, small modular nuclear reactors, aviation, ports, defence, AI data centres, financial and legal services, and the electricity grid and energy storage. For UK investment into the UAE he pointed to railways and airports, where British expertise, capital and export finance could support expansion. A CEPA would be the UAE’s standard instrument for such a partnership: the country has signed 38 of them since September 2021, from India to Canada, as we described in our article on UAE-UK trade passing USD 30 billion.

What this means for a business in the UAE

Trade agreements are used by legal entities, not by headlines. For a company licensed in the UAE, the UK-GCC deal and a future UK-UAE CEPA translate into five concrete things:

1. Cheaper British inputs. Cars, machinery, aerospace parts, medical equipment, food and drink from the UK will enter the GCC with lower or zero duties as the schedules take effect. Distributors, fleet operators, clinics and hospitality groups that buy British goods should review supply contracts and customs planning now, so that preferences can be claimed from the first day they apply.
2. A preferential route into the UK for GCC-origin goods. The agreement is reciprocal: goods produced in the UAE that meet its rules of origin will gain preferential access to the British market. Manufacturers in zones such as KEZAD in Abu Dhabi or Dubai Industrial City, and producers of food, aluminium, petrochemicals and packaging, should map their products against the origin rules as soon as the legal text is published.
3. Services and professional recognition. Financial, legal, consulting and engineering firms gain a clearer legal footing in both directions, including a framework for recognising professional qualifications. For British professionals relocating to Dubai or Abu Dhabi that means fewer licensing frictions; for UAE firms it means easier hiring of UK-qualified staff.
4. Government procurement. The UAE and Bahrain have given UK suppliers legally guaranteed access to public tenders, with UAE In-Country Value certification available to them. UAE companies that partner with British suppliers on infrastructure, healthcare and energy projects should expect more joint bids.
5. Timing. Signature within weeks, ratification expected through 2027. That is the window in which to incorporate, register with customs, open a bank account and put contracts in place, so that the company is ready when the preferences apply. Company registration in the UAE takes days to a few weeks; a corporate bank account usually takes longer, which is why it should be started first.

A short checklist for a UAE company preparing for the agreement:

• Confirm that the trade licence covers the activities you will trade in with the UK (general trading, specific goods, services).
• Register with the customs authority of your emirate and obtain the company’s customs code before the first consignment.
• Collect origin documentation for goods you produce or process in the UAE.
• Check VAT: registration becomes mandatory once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000 a year, and imports carry 5% VAT under reverse-charge rules for registered businesses.
• Open the corporate bank account early: banks assess trading companies on documented counterparties and contracts. Read our overview of the UAE as a multimodal logistics hub for the infrastructure side of the picture.

How Atlant Capital can help

Atlant Capital helps entrepreneurs and companies establish and operate businesses in the UAE. We advise on choosing between a mainland licence and a free zone for trading, manufacturing or services aimed at the UK and Gulf markets, register the company with the right activities through our company setup service, and support corporate bank account opening with UAE banks so that payments to and from British counterparties run without delays. We also arrange residency visas for shareholders, managers and relocating specialists, and can align the timetable of your setup with the expected entry into force of the UK-GCC agreement.

Conclusion

Britain’s trade minister used his first Gulf visit to put a clock on the UK-GCC free trade agreement: signature within weeks, after almost four years of negotiation, with UK-Gulf trade expected to grow by 19.8%, or about USD 21 billion a year. In parallel, London and Abu Dhabi have started preparatory work on a bilateral UK-UAE agreement built on GBP 25 billion of annual trade, GBP 30 billion of UAE investment commitments in Britain and 10,000 British companies already in the Emirates. Ratification will take into 2027, and that period is exactly when companies in the UAE should set up the structures that will allow them to use the new terms from day one.

FAQ

When will the UK-GCC free trade agreement be signed?

UK Minister of State for Trade Anas Sarwar said on 2026-09-01 that Britain is ready to sign the agreement within weeks. Negotiations ran from June 2022 to 20 May 2026. After signature the deal must be ratified by the UK and each GCC state, a process the UAE Ambassador to the UK expects to complete during 2027. No signing or entry-into-force date has been announced.

How much is UK trade with the GCC and the UAE worth?

UK-GCC trade was GBP 53 billion (USD 71 billion) in 2025, and the agreement is expected to raise it by 19.8% in the long run, about USD 21 billion a year. UK-UAE trade was GBP 25 billion (USD 33.5 billion) in 2025, which makes the UAE Britain’s largest trading partner in the Gulf and its 20th largest worldwide.

Is the UK planning a separate trade deal with the UAE?

Yes. Mr Sarwar said preparatory work on a bilateral UK-UAE agreement has begun and that conversations are already under way. In July 2026 the UAE Ambassador to the UK, Mansoor Abulhoul, said the building blocks were in place for a UK-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement covering data, digital trade, services and recognition of professional qualifications.

What should a UAE company do to benefit from the UK-GCC agreement?

Hold a valid trade licence with the right activities, register with customs, open a corporate bank account and keep origin documentation for goods produced in the UAE. Companies importing British cars, machinery, food or medical equipment should review supply contracts so that they can claim tariff preferences once the agreement enters into force. Advisers such as Atlant Capital can align company setup, bank account and visas with that timetable.