(VOVWORLD) -The UK and the US on Thursday signed the Atlantic Declaration to forge closer economic links between the two countries. The agreement is the biggest result of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's two-day visit to the US and marks a new partnership in the post-Brexit period.
 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) and US President Joe Biden at a joint press conference in Washington DC, June 8. Photo: AFP/VNA
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The Atlantic Declaration mitigates some of the issues caused by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides a 3,750 USD incentive for each vehicle, on conditions including that the critical minerals used in its production – principally used in the battery – are sourced from the US or a country with whom the US has a critical minerals agreement. An agreement could help companies all over the UK.
Mr Biden has committed to ask Congress to approve the UK as a “domestic source” under US defense procurement laws, allowing for greater American investment in British firms. The two countries also agreed on data protection.
The Atlantic Declaration emphasizes closer UK-US cooperation in civil nuclear energy, supply chains and export controls of sensitive technologies.
Prime Minister Sunak hailed the agreement as being designed to “respond to the particular opportunities and challenges that we face right now and into the future.”
However, the package is considered modest as the UK has yet to reach a post-Brexit free trade agreement with the US, instead planning to pursue a green economy through subsidies for many industries. The Atlantic Declaration just focuses on defense and renewable energy to cope with other countries’ competition.