Today (4 September), the UK edges closer to a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Sir Keir Starmer takes a victory lap in Scotland to celebrate a £10bn defence deal with Norway.
Gulf coast talks
Saudi’s minister of commerce, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, told Politico Pro that negotiations on a trade deal between the GCC and the UK are “90% there”.
“We have been in almost weekly meetings — even today I have a meeting on the free trade agreement. We are almost 90% there, but you know GCC are six countries and every country has its own trade fabrics and trade requirements,” he told Sophie Inge during a fireside chat at the Great Futures summit on Wednesday (3 September).
A UK-GCC agreement has been another major deal long talked up by British ministers. However, human rights groups have warned that the deal would ignore issues on human rights, modern slavery and the environment. The National Farmers’ Union has also previously warned the government needs to “hold firm” on food standards during negotiations.
At the same summit, UK business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that 180 new jobs are being created as a result of joint investment from UK and Saudi companies, worth £360m.
Reynolds and Al-Kassabi co-chaired a fifth meeting of the Saudi-UK Strategic Partnership Council during the summit. According to a government press release, the two discussed topics like industrial growth, creative industries and life sciences.
UK and Spain
Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, met UK counterpart, Sir Keir Starmer, in Downing street yesterday in a push to improve joint relations.
Sánchez’s office, La Moncloa, said that the two leaders signed an agreement ending a long-running dispute of Gibraltar, which had been bubbling up since Brexit.
Gibraltar was not included in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, but had instead been subject to separate negotiations. Without a deal, Spanish and Gibraltarian citizens faced extensive delays crossing the border.
As well as the agreement, Starmer and Sánchez talked up the possibility of new investment opportunities in both countries. Spain remains the fifth largest source of foreign investment into the UK, according to Downing Street, as well as the second largest provider of services since Brexit.
Starmer, Scotland and Norway
Starmer is now in Scotland taking a victory lap over the recent news that Norway has awarded a £10bn contract to build frigates to ship builders in Scotland. Defence secretary, John Healy, is also visiting Norway for a press conference with his counterpart, Tore O. Sandvik.
The deal, which was announced on Sunday (31 October), will reportedly support thousands of jobs in the Glasgow area and produce 13 Type 26 Frigates that will operate in the North Atlantic when completed.
Norway is also heading to the polls on Monday (8 September). Incumbent socialist PM Jonas Gahr Støre is hoping to retain office over his conservative rival, former PM Erna Solberg, in an election that has included discussions over Norway’s relationship with the EU and energy policy.
Reform UK conference
The Reform UK party begins its annual conference tomorrow (5 September), as party conference season kicks off for 2025.
Although an agenda has still not been released, topics like immigration are expected to be on the agenda and senior party figures, such as Richard Tice, Sarah Pochin and Lee Anderson, are scheduled to speak.
Although the FT reports that many major CEOs will not be in attendance, groups like Heathrow Airport, JCB and TikTok are sponsoring the conference. Additionally, the Guardian reports that senior Tory figures Mchael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg will be in attendance.
Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, recently received a rough reception in the US Congress, where he was giving evidence over purported free speech issues in the UK. Opposition figures accused him of being a “Trump sycophant” and a “Putin-loving free speech impostor,” while Labour accused him of “talking Britain down.”
Other news
- Authorities have shut down one of the mayor illegal sports streaming sites. The Athletic reports Egyptian law enforcement officials raided the premises of Eaststream, which received 136 million average monthly visits and provided pirated access to major sports competitions
- In an email to the Daily Update, the Liberty Justice Centre, the legal team responsible for a US federal appeals court judgment overturning the majority of US tariffs, have said they have received notice that the Trump administration has appealed the decision to the US Supreme Court
- The European Commission (EC) has approved the draft text for the EU-Mercosur agreement; the deal still needs to be approved by the EU parliament
- However, opposition still remains – MEPs from the Green and The Left groups are preparing to take the issue in front of the Court of Justice of the EU, according to EuroNews
- UK minister Lord Collins has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his Mauritanian counterpart to boost UK Export Finance support for trade between the two countries, the UK Embassy in Mauritania has posted on x
Yesterday in trade
- China put on the biggest military display in its history as Chinese president, Xi Jinping, continues his geopolitical offensive
- UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, told parliament that new sanctions on Russia could be on the way “very shortly”
- The air freight market could be facing a crunch moment, as the two largest air cargo providers start to retire old models
You can read all about it here.
