“Dismay as UK prepares to sign ‘values-free’ £1.6bn trade deal with Gulf states”

The UK is on the brink of signing a £1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states, amid warnings from rights groups that the deal makes no concrete provisions on human rights, modern slavery or the environment…

The UK has said it hopes the deal will eventually add an extra £8.6bn a year to trade between the UK and GCC countries by 2035…

The deal is likely to be particularly beneficial for the car industry and financial services, though estimates suggest that a free trade agreement would be worth less than 0.1% of GDP over the next decade…

The TUC is among those who have urged caution over the deal and has raised concerns with ministers…

Human rights groups have previously said the UK should not finalise a free trade agreement without legal commitments on human rights improvements, especially for migrant workers…

Tom Wills, the director of the Trade Justice Movement, said: “The UK-GCC trade deal is a values-free agreement that will offer minimal benefit to the UK economy while signalling that human rights and environmental protections are not a priority in UK trade policy…