UK makes start on trade talks with GCC partners

Secretary of state for international trade Liam Fox has been on a brief tour of Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) capitals, as part of efforts to line up new trade deals for the UK’s post-European Union future. The UK is not able to sign any trade deals until it leaves the EU, which is unlikely to happen before 2019 at the earliest, but it is keen to set out the parameters of possible new deals ahead of that date.