Biden and Sunak signed the "Atlantic Declaration," which Sunak described as a first-of-its-kind economic partnership on artificial intelligence and other economic and commercial relations, as the British leader made an official visit to the White House.
"I know some people have wondered what kind of partner Britain would be after it left the EU," Sunak said, announcing the new deal. "I'd say, judge us by our actions. We're as committed to our values as ever, as reliable of an ally as ever, as attractive an investment destination as ever." Biden and Sunak also launched negotiations on a critical minerals agreement that could allow electric vehicle minerals produced in Britain to count towards tax credits for clean vehicles offered under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.
Biden and Sunak shared laughs and more sober sentiments in the Oval Office about the close relations between prior leaders from the two countries. Sunak, who regularly called the U.S. president "Joe" during the trip, joked that he would not create the same imposition on Biden that World War Two-era British Prime Minister Winston Churchill did by allegedly wandering around the White House residence in the middle of the night as a guest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The two leaders last met in Hiroshima, Japan, at the Group of Seven summit last month. They also met in Belfast in April and in San Diego in March at a trilateral event marking the defense partnership of the United States, Australia and Britain.