UK,US signs green funding agreement

Plans to strengthen connections between the UK and the US, unveiled by Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden, may allow UK businesses access to US green funding agreement.

At a news conference at the White House, the two revealed the Atlantic Declaration, which aims to improve economic connections between the two nations.

The pact, which is not a comprehensive trade agreement, will result in benefits “as soon as possible,” according to the PM.

The US green tax credits and subsidies may be available to UK electric car companies.
Mr Sunak called the US-UK alliance an “indispensable alliance” as the two announced their collaboration to strengthen economic security.

The Atlantic Declaration includes pledges to lower trade barriers, strengthen linkages between the defence industry and other sectors, reach a data protection agreement, and expand AI collaboration.

When asked if the new accord “acknowledged the failure” of the UK and US to reach a more comprehensive trade agreement, Mr Sunak responded that the new pact “responds to particular challenges and opportunities we face right now.”

In their general election platform for 2019, the Conservative Party made a major commitment to a UK-US free trade pact.

Mr Sunak stressed that the declaration’s more specific focus was on “what can do the best for our citizens as quickly as possible.”

Be certain that the economic ties between our two nations are at an all-time high, Mr Sunak remarked.

Complete free trade agreement plans were shelved months ago. Mr Sunak stated on the flight to Washington that “that has not been a priority for either the US or the UK for a while now.”

David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary for Labour, criticized Mr Sunak, claiming that the administration has left “Britain’s cupboards bare” by failing to reach a trade agreement.

“This statement shows the government has failed to deliver the comprehensive trade deal they promised in the 2019 manifesto or to secure the ally status under the Inflation Reduction Act that is so important for the automotive sector and for the green transition,” Mr Lammy said.

Regarding their cooperation in Ukraine, Vice President Biden noted that their special relationship was in “really good shape.” “Together, we are providing economic and humanitarian aid and security systems to Ukraine in their fight against a brutal invasion from Russia,” he said.

Plans to lessen some of the effects of the US flagship Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on the UK economy are included in the Atlantic Declaration, along with suggestions to reduce obstacles that hindered the trade of batteries for electric vehicles.

For each electric vehicle (EV) produced in the US or using materials mined, processed, or assembled there, the IRA currently offers a tax credit worth $3,750 (£3,000).

EV battery raw materials are already a net export from the UK to the US. But access to IRA subsidies is restricted to countries without a US trade agreement.

The Atlantic Declaration commits the US and the UK to drafting a new critical minerals agreement, which will grant tax credits to consumers of vehicles produced from key minerals extracted, processed, or recycled by UK businesses.

According to the proclamation, US Congress would be consulted before the deal was put into effect.

Similar arrangements already exist in Japan, allowing Japanese businesses to avoid export taxes on minerals used to make EV batteries.

The declaration also pledges support for a “new UK-US Data Bridge” that would enable UK businesses to freely transfer data to approved US organizations without having to pay a fee.

According to estimates from Downing Street, the reform will have an impact on about 55,000 UK businesses and result in annual direct savings of £92.4 million.

Additionally, Mr Biden backed Mr Sunak’s efforts to organize a global summit on AI security, which will take place in the UK later this year.

The UK and US have consistently pushed the bounds of what two nations can accomplish together, according to the prime minister, so it is only natural that we would turn to one another to forge a stronger economic future as our economies undergo the greatest transformation since the industrial revolution.The Atlantic Declaration establishes a new benchmark for economic cooperation and propels our economies forward so that we can jointly safeguard our citizens, generate jobs, and expand our economies.

Both Mr Biden and Mr Sunak concurred that work would be done to increase supply chain resilience, and efforts to exclude Vladimir Putin’s Russia from the international civil nuclear market would be taken up.