Rishi Sunak and Biden announce Atlantic Declaration but still no free trade deal
Shame-faced Rishi Sunak blamed Covid and the war in Ukraine as he left the White House without making progress on getting a US trade deal.
The PM held one-on-one talks with Joe Biden today at the end of his first visit to Washington DC since entering Downing Street.
The President attempted to save Mr Sunak’s blushes by agreeing to a series of mini-deals to boost Transatlantic trade.
But the pair did not make any steps forward on negotiating a free trade agreement.
It marks yet another Tory broken promise. The party pledged in its 2019 election manifesto it would strike a deal by the end of last year.
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The two leaders signed a Atlantic Declaration aimed at increasing trade.
Rishi Sunak hailed the Atlantic Declaration as a "test case" for "reimagined alliances" (AFP via Getty Images)The agreement will help British defence companies win US government contracts and make it easier to import and export the minerals used in the production of products including electric car batteries and solar panels.
It will also allow British and American engineers work in both countries without needing extra qualifications and cut red tape for small firms relating to computer data.
Asked about the government’s failure to deliver on the 2019 manifesto promise, Mr Sunak said: "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 to ensure that we're focusing our engagement economically on the things that will make the most difference."
The Prime Minister’s spokesman added: “We think this is the right approach for the UK-US relationship.
“We think it delivers benefits to people in the UK faster, whether it's saving money for businesses or helping our defence sector.”
Asked if a trade deal would ever now happen, he added: “Of course, we can't speak to forever, always into the future.”
The PM held one-on-one talks with Joe Biden today (AFP via Getty Images)During the joint press conference with President Biden, Mr Sunak hailed the Atlantic Declaration as a "test case" for "reimagined alliances".
"Today we have agreed the Atlantic Declaration, a new economic partnership for a new age of a kind that has never been agreed before. Yes, a partnership that protects our citizens," he said.
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The PM went on: "This week alone, £14 billion of new American investment has been committed into the UK, creating thousands of jobs.
"It means stronger supply chains with a new action plan on clean energy. And it means reducing trade barriers in the technologies of the future with a new secure UK-US data bridge helping tens of thousands of small businesses."
President Biden praised the strength of the UK-US relationship, saying they were leading together on global issues.
President Biden praised the strength of the UK-US relationship, saying they were leading together on global issues (AFP via Getty Images)He said: "Today in Washington, we've had important and positive discussions to deepen our bilateral economic relationship and expand our co-operation to shape the challenges of the future for the remainder of this century.
"It's a testament to the depth, breadth and I would argue the intensity of our co-operation and coordination which continues to exist between the United Kingdom and the United States.
"There's no issue of global importance - none - that our nations are not leading together and we're not just sharing our common values to make things better."
But Keir Starmer accused the government of having “no strategy".
The Labour leader said: “In 2019, the Conservative Party had in their manifesto that they’d have a trade agreement with the US by 2022. So, it’s clear they’ve failed on that promise amongst many other promises.
President Biden showed an air quality chart regarding smoke in the air from Canadian wildfires during the press conference (PA)“But that’s not the only failure. They’ve got no strategy, they’ve got no way of taking the country forward, and what we need is an industrial strategy, a plan for growth.
“This is what Labour is working on, which is how we take our country forward. So, you’ve got a government at the moment that is not only failing on its promises but is also sort of sitting it out.”
In their 2019 election manifesto, the Conservatives said: “Our goals for British trade are accordingly ambitious.
“We aim to have 80 per cent of UK trade covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.”
During his two-day trip to the States, Mr Sunak has held meetings with senior Republicans and Democrats, as well as business leaders.
But he faced embarrassment after he wimped out of throwing the first pitch as a baseball game where he was the guest of honour.
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