Rishi Sunak hailed the ‘indispensable alliance’ between the UK and US tonight as he revealed a new transatlantic trade and defence security deal with Joe Biden‘s administration.
The Prime Minister said Britain was a ‘confident, proud and free’ nation after leaving the European Union as he met the president at the White House for the first time.
The Atlantic Declaration, announced as the Prime Minister and US president met in smoky Washington, includes commitments on easing trade barriers, closer defence industry ties and a data protection deal.
But it falls short of a full free-trade deal with the United States. Mr Sunak has spent a great deal of political capital on improving the so-called ‘Special Relationship’, seen as having been battered by rows over Northern Ireland Brexit rules.
However, there still appears to be no immediate prospect of a trade deal – which was very much on the cards when Donald Trump was commander-in-chief.
Pressed on the trade deal, Mr Sunak insisted at a press conference ‘the economic relationship between our two countries has never been stronger’.
The Prime Minister said Britain was a ‘confident, proud and free’ nation after leaving the European Union as he met the president at the White House for the first time.
The PM met the US president in the Oval Office on his first visit to Washington, with economic issues and Ukraine high on the agenda.
Rishi Sunak arrived at the White House tonight as he woos Joe Biden over trade and military cooperation
Rishi Sunak (left) is preparing to woo Joe Biden (right) over trade and military cooperation in talks at the White House today
A poll for MailOnline shows that Brits regard Mr Biden as more pro-EU than pro-UK, although he is also rated more favourably than his predecessor
He arrived at the White House tonight on a mission to woo Joe Biden over trade and military cooperation.
The PM met the US president in the Oval Office on his first visit to Washington, with economic issues and Ukraine high on the agenda.
Asked by reporters about the special relationship between the UK and the US, Mr Biden gave a thumbs-up and said it was ‘in real good shape’.
Former UK ambassador to the US Lord Darroch has voiced concerns that ‘for all the inevitable smiles and pats on the back’ there ‘doesn’t look to be much real warmth in the Anglo-American relationship’.
A poll for MailOnline shows that Brits regard Mr Biden as more pro-EU than pro-UK, although he is also rated more favourably than his predecessor.
The president was accused of a series of ‘anti-British’ snubs when he visited the island of Island recently, spending just a few hours in Belfast before a lengthy stay in the Republic – where he often boasts of having heritage.
Mr Sunak waved as he was driven up to the door of the residence, but did not respond to shouted questions.
Speaking to Mr Biden in the Oval Office, the PM said: ‘It’s daunting to think of the conversations that our predecessors had in this room when they had to speak of wars that they fought together, peace won together, incredible change in the lives of our citizens.
‘And again, for the first time in over half a century, we face a war on the European continent.
‘And as we’ve done before, the US and the UK, have stood together to support Ukraine and stand up for the values of democracy and freedom and make sure that they prevail, as I know we will.
‘But also I completely agree with what you said, our economies are seeing, perhaps the biggest transformation since the Industrial Revolution, as new technologies provide incredible opportunities, but also give our adversaries more tools for harm.’
Earlier, he told business leaders that Transatlantic ties are ‘very strong’.
Downing Street has secured an early win by getting Mr Biden to agree to hold a rare joint press conference this evening after the talks.
But Mr Sunak was forced to deny breaking a manifesto promise to get a trade deal as he faced journalists in Washington this afternoon.
He argued that the war in Ukraine and the pandemic meant that the ‘macroeconomic situation’ had changed.
‘Since then we’ve had a pandemic, we’ve had a war in Ukraine, and that has changed the macroeconomic situation. The right response to that is ensure that we’re focusing our engagement economically on the things that will make the most difference.’
He added: ‘Actually, what I’ll be talking to President Biden about today is how can the UK and the US work together to ensure security for our citizens? I think that’s the thing that we should be focusing on right now.’
This afternoon Mr Sunak addressed a gathering of chief executives of major companies in Washington, urging them to invest in the UK.
At the Business Roundtable forum he said: ‘My job is to convince you that that’s the right decision,’ he said.
‘Not just for today, but for years into the future as well.’
Mr Sunak will try to forge a joint stance with Mr Biden on AI, after declaring that the UK will host a major summit on the tech in the coming months.
He could also take the opportunity to push for Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to be handed the job of leading Nato when secretary general Jens Stoltenberg steps down at the end of September. Mr Biden has been pictured cosying up to Mr Wallace’s likely Danish rival.
En route to Washington DC, Mr Sunak told reporters that a trade deal was not happening any time soon.
‘I think that for a while now, that has not been a priority for either the US or UK,’ he said.
‘Because what we’re both focused on is making sure that our economic partnership reflects the particular challenges and opportunities of the time that we’re in right now.
‘And that is the conversation that I will be having with President Biden. That involves not just trade but also economic security, which is increasingly important, but when it does come to trade, you know, what we have been doing with the US are looking at specific and targeted ways to improve trade between our countries.
‘It’s also worth saying that we already have an unbelievably strong trading relationship with the US. I mean, we’re the largest investors in each other we employ over a million people in each other’s countries.’
This afternoon Mr Sunak addressed a gathering of chief executives of major companies in Washington, urging them to invest in the UK
Mr Sunak said the UK-US trading relationship is ‘already worth hundreds of billions of dollars’ and is growing.
‘There’s lots of things for us to discuss, but I think it’s important that our economic relationship reflects the particular challenges and opportunities at the time were in.’
Asked if a free trade deal was an unrealistic promise, Mr Sunak replied: ‘All I said is since I’ve been Prime Minister, we’ve been focused, as have the US on making sure that our economic partnership reflects the opportunities and challenges of the time that we face now.’
It had been hoped that Mr Sunak’s ‘Windsor Framework’ with the EU on post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland might clear an obstacle to a free trade deal with America.
Mr Biden had frequently intervened over Britain’s bitter row with Brussels over the Northern Ireland Protocol prior to the signing of the Windsor Agreement.
But the US President has previously made clear that a free trade deal was not a priority, and progress has stalled since he replaced Donald Trump in the White House.
