Biden and Johnson promise a brand new “Atlantic Constitution” for know-how, commerce and journey
United States President Joe Biden waves as he and First Lady Jill Biden board Marine One on the Ellipse on June 9, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden and the First Lady will travel to the UK for the G7 summit and later to Belgium and Switzerland as part of an eight-day trip across Europe.
Anna Money Maker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – The US and UK have committed to agreeing a new “Atlantic Charter” to consolidate trade, travel and technology ties between the two nations.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Joe Biden meet on Thursday ahead of the Group of Seven (G-7) Summit, which begins in Cornwall, south-west England on Friday.
Before the summit, the heads of state and government are expected to agree on a new charter, modeled on the 1941 statement of principles of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which sets out their goals for the post-war world.
The original Atlantic Charter contained agreements to promote democracy and free trade. In a statement released late Wednesday, the British government said the 1941 charter was “one of the greatest triumphs of Britain-US relations,” which “did more than any other agreement to shape the world order and directly to the founding of the United Nations led and “NATO.”
The UK government noted that the 2021 Atlantic Charter will recognize that although the world is a very different place from 1941, “the values shared by the UK and US remain the same”.
“Just as our countries worked together after World War II to rebuild the world, we will use our combined forces to tackle the enormous challenges the planet faces today – from global defense and security to post-coronavirus reconstruction towards mitigating climate change. “it said.
The agreements under the new charter should include commitments to resume travel between the UK and the US, promote trade and a “groundbreaking” technology pact to facilitate collaboration between UK and US tech companies.
She will also look at more recent challenges such as dealing with the cyber attack threat, taking action against climate change and protecting biodiversity, and efforts to end and recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The commitments made in the charter are underpinned by a number of new political priorities expected to be agreed by Johnson and Biden on Thursday, including efforts to open up travel between the UK and the US as soon as possible.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased travel recommendations for more than 110 countries and territories. However, Great Britain was not on this list due to the spread of the Delta variant originally discovered in India.
The US is currently banning almost all non-US citizens who have been in the UK, Ireland and the 26 Schengen countries in Europe in the past 14 days that have no border controls.
According to a senior White House official, the Biden government is forming expert working groups with Canada, Mexico, the EU and the UK to determine how best to safely resume travel.
The UK said the new travel task force will be overseen by the country’s Department of Transportation and its US counterparts.
The chiefs of airlines on both sides of the Atlantic have repeatedly urged government officials to come up with a plan to reopen travel. Travel restrictions have contributed to record losses, and executives hope officials will lift these rules during the peak travel season in late spring and summer.
Wage dispute
Biden and Johnson will also look at ways to improve economic ties between the countries, “including through a settlement of the civil aviation dispute,” the UK said, reiterating hopes for an end to the longstanding US-European tariff-related dispute their respective aircraft competitors Boeing and Airbus.
Leaders are also expected to agree to “pursue a groundbreaking bilateral technology deal” due to be signed in 2022.
“The agreement will usher in a new era of strategic collaboration by reducing the barriers for UK tech companies when trying to work with their US counterparts. By combining our shared expertise in areas such as AI and quantum technology, the UK and US have the potential to change. “The way we live.”
Commenting on the charter, Prime Minister Johnson said: “While Churchill and Roosevelt faced the question of how we can help the world recover from a devastating war, we face a very different, but no less intimidating, challenge today – how we can better rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic, “said the statement on Wednesday.
“And in doing so, the collaboration between the UK and the US, our closest partners and greatest allies, will be critical to the future of stability and prosperity in the world.”
– CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.
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