President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on June 8, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Deitch | Getty Images News | Getty Images
While a U.S.-UK trade deal remains elusive, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Joe Biden signed a new “Atlantic Declaration” aimed at strengthening economic security in the face of threats from Russia and China.
The agreement, announced Thursday at a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House, is a series of smaller deals involving artificial intelligence, critical minerals, clean energy and security.
Sunak, who is wrapping up his U.S. tour this week, hailed the agreement as “a new economic partnership for a new era, an unprecedented agreement”. He highlighted new US investment of 14 billion pounds ($17.5 billion) in the UK, which also includes joint research in areas such as quantum, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
document outlining the transaction UK government website The U.S. and the U.K. will start negotiating an agreement that would allow electric vehicle mines mined in the U.K. to receive tax breaks under Biden’s inflation-reducing bill, he said. The same document said Biden would ask Congress to label the UK as a “domestic source” in the US Defense Production Act, offering more favorable terms to suppliers from that country.
“We face new challenges to international stability—from authoritarian states such as Russia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC); disruptive technologies; non-state actors; and transnational challenges such as climate change,” the document reads.
Sunak, still new after taking office following market turmoil under his predecessor Liz Truss, was asked about a possible UK-US trade deal promised to the Conservatives under Donald Trump.
The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, the recent cost of living crisis in the UK and current opinion polls show that public sentiment has turned against Brexit amid a cost of living crisis exacerbated by supply chain issues.
“I know some people are wondering what kind of partner the UK will be after we leave the EU,” Sunak said on Thursday. “I would say: judge us by our actions. We remain committed to our values as always, remain a reliable ally as always, and remain an attractive investment destination as always.”