What's been happening in the world of UK trade policy?

Dr Adam Marks is our International Policy Executive. Adam works to deliver our international strategy, promoting the work of the Society and the Scottish legal profession on an international stage.

It has been a busy few months in the world of UK trade policy, and there have been a number of welcome developments. First of all, the leaders of the United Kingdom and the European Union held the first UK-EU Summit since the general election on 19 May 2025. It is clear that the tone of the meeting was far more positive and upbeat than many that have taken place over the last few years. We hope this will be the start of a trend that enables us to improve upon the current arrangements with the EU.

 It is worth noting from the outset that, while the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is helpful from a services perspective, the deal is largely focused on trade in goods. Generally, the provisions on trade in services and investment could have been stronger. There are, however, a number of helpful aspects, including a specific section on legal services—not always found in trade agreements. The Law Society of Scotland has raised a number of issues, particularly regarding restrictions on mobility, and I am pleased to say that we are seeing some success. The UK and EU have agreed to create dedicated dialogues on the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes, and on the recognition of professional qualifications. This will hopefully create a forum for us to address mobility barriers faced by Scottish solicitors in the EU. While nothing has changed immediately, it is a positive and welcome development.

The broader commitment by the UK and the EU to develop a scheme that will give young people the opportunity to undertake short-term work experience in each other’s jurisdictions will also, hopefully, benefit the next generation of solicitors.  Read the Joint Statement from the summit.

There has also been progress in the UK-Australia legal services dialogue, which has continued to make steady headway. The creation of the Legal Services Regulatory Dialogue was from a commitment in the Free Trade Agreement signed between the UK and Australia and seeks to advance several objectives related to trade in legal services. So far, it has focused on sharing information, including requirements for admission and licensing in each jurisdiction. We have discussed business structures, routes to qualification across various jurisdictions, and our approaches to artificial intelligence. We have all agreed on a joint report consolidating the work done and look forward to building upon this over the next twelve months.

There have also been significant changes in the UK’s trading relationship with India. The failure to include legal services in the free trade agreement between India and the UK, announced in May, was a missed opportunity. Opening up one of the world’s largest markets to Scottish solicitors would clearly have been a positive development. While the UK-India agreement is broadly positive for other sectors, it is a shame that we cannot see it as a step forward for legal services.

Separate from the negotiations, there have been some positive developments. The Bar Council of India (BCI) has recently amended its rules to allow foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in India under specific and restricted conditions. These changes, announced on 13 May 2025, will, in theory, permit foreign legal professionals to engage in non-litigious matters after registering with the BCI. In particular, this could open up work in areas such as arbitration, intellectual property, and international legal matters. However, there are still extensive restrictions, and since a previous similar announcement ended up being litigated in the courts, we still need to see how this will work in practice. Even with these caveats, it is still a welcome development.

If you have any questions about these issues or any of our trade policy work, please drop me a line at AdamMarks@lawscot.org.uk.