Biden and UK's Sunak sign 'Atlantic Declaration,' pledging agreements on A.I. and critical minerals

Important Points

Sunak was questioned about a potential U.K.-U.S. trading deal. He is still relatively new to the role, having been installed after the turmoil in the markets caused by his predecessor Liz Truss.

Although a U.S. - U.K. deal is still elusive, British PM Rishi Sunak signed the "Atlantic Declaration", which aims to strengthen economic security against threats from Russia and China.

The agreement announced on Thursday in the East Room at the White House is a collection of mini-deals that look at artificial intelligence, minerals of critical importance, clean energy, and security.

Sunak, who is wrapping up his trip to the U.S. this week, described the agreement as "a new economic partnership for a modern age of a type that has never before been agreed upon." Sunak highlighted the PS14 billion (US$17.5 billion) in new U.S. investments that have been made into the U.K. The two sides are also conducting joint research on areas such as quantum, semiconductors, and AI.

Documents on the U.K. Government website describing the deal said that Britain would begin talks with the U.S. on an agreement which would allow electric vehicles minerals mined in Britain to benefit from tax incentives under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Biden will ask Congress to designate Britain as a domestic source within the U.S. Defense Production Act. This would give suppliers in Britain more favorable terms.

The document stated that "We are facing new challenges to the stability of the international system -- authoritarian countries such as Russia, China and the People's Republic of China; disruptive technologies; nonstate actors and transnational issues like climate change."