Sunak will press Biden to strengthen economic ties during Northern Ireland trip despite US snub to trade deal
Rishi Sunak will press Joe Biden to boost post-Brexit economic ties between the UK and US when they meet in Northern Ireland, i understands.
The Prime Minister will meet the US president off Air Force One when he lands in Belfast on Tuesday for a visit to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
The pact to bring peace to Northern Ireland was signed a quarter of a century ago on Monday and a series of high-profile political gatherings are taking place to mark the occasion.
After their briefing meeting at the airport, Mr Sunak and Mr Biden will hold longer talks on Wednesday, the latest in a series of meetings between the two leaders which are scheduled to take place on an almost monthly basis this year.
As well as discussing the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement and the impact of the Windsor framework, the Prime Minister is expected to raise a number of broader issues around the US-UK relationship.
He will ask the president to step up economic links by encouraging American businesses to invest more in Britain, according to Government sources.
But Mr Sunak will stop short of suggesting that negotiations on a free-trade agreement, which have been on pause since Mr Biden took office, should be restarted in the near future.
The two leaders last met in San Diego in March, where they attended a trilateral summit along with the prime minister of Australia to agree the next phase of the Aukus submarine pact.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to travel back to the US in June for detailed discussions with the president in Washington. They are also meeting at a number of multilateral summits in the coming months: the G7 in April, Nato in June and the G20 in September.
Britain and the US have been close allies during the invasion of Ukraine, working together to encourage Western countries to step up their support for Kyiv despite the perceived risk of Russian escalation. But they have clashed over Mr Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which offers large tax breaks to multinational companies which relocate to North America and is seen as setting off a subsidies arms race with Europe.
Mr Sunak’s meeting with President Biden in Belfast comes as multiple past and present leaders visit Northern Ireland to celebrate the Good Friday Agreement. Bill and Hillary Clinton will give speeches next week, marking Mr Clinton’s role as US president in helping to finalise the agreement.
The announcement of the Windsor framework on UK-EU relations is seen in the US as removing on potential obstacle to transatlantic co-operation. American politicians had warned Britain not to risk peace in Ireland by launching an effective trade war with Brussels.
