Today, Labour’s trade ministers travel to Riyadh for a first joint international visit since the election, aiming to “deliver a high-quality trade deal”.
According to the government’s own modelling (p31), a mooted trade deal with the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council offers a tiny potential boost to UK GDP of 0.06% – 0.11% by 2035.
A UK trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council is mired in controversy given the poor human rights record of a number of the Gulf states, including on issues such as labour rights, freedom of expression and gender rights. The announcement of the ministerial visit contains no mention of social or environmental concerns.
Tom Wills, Director of the Trade Justice Movement, said:
“It is discouraging that one of Labour’s first acts on trade is to fly ministers to pursue a trade deal which carries little economic promise and has no prospect of delivering high shared standards on labour rights and environmental protections.
“Rather than buying into the free trade programme pushed by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, Labour should take the time to set out a clear vision on what UK trade policy is meant to achieve. Negotiating trade agreements before publishing a trade strategy is putting the cart before the horse.“
