Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election has significant ramifications for all of America’s key allies but especially for the UK, which faces acute challenges in repositioning itself for the new presidency.
The first issue is personal: Mr Biden associates Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, with his rival Donald Trump. After last year’s general election, he described the UK prime minister as “a physical and emotional clone” of Mr Trump.
Mr Biden and his team judge Brexit to be a historic error — both for the UK and American interests in Europe.
After the race for the White House was called for Mr Biden on Saturday afternoon, Mr Johnson was quick to offer warm words.
"Congratulations to Joe Biden on his election as president of the United States and to Kamala Harris on her historic achievement,” he said in a statement. “The US is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security."
Although Mr Johnson and Mr Biden have never met, allies of the prime minister hope a rapport can be forged if his triumph is confirmed. “Boris will reach out immediately to smooth things over. He’s not a mini-Trump and Joe Biden will find that out when they start chatting,” said one cabinet minister.
British diplomats pointed out that despite the upbeat rhetoric, UK-US relations had not been especially productive during Mr Trump’s past four years as president. “What did the president ever actually do for us? He bullied us into cutting out Huawei, but did little of substance on Brexit or trade,” one UK government official said.
Some in the UK Foreign Office believe that French president Emmanuel Macron may play a crucial role in Mr Biden’s European policy and therefore for Mr Johnson. One senior diplomat said: “We’re fully expecting the president to head first to France. Their teams have already been working closely together.”
A Biden presidency may increase the pressure on Mr Johnson to remove contentious clauses from the internal market bill, which override parts of the UK’s Brexit treaty in relation to Northern Ireland.
Mr Biden is proud of his Irish heritage, and has warned the UK against doing anything that could undermine the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 accord that settled three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. He recently paid tribute to John Hume — one of the architects of the agreement — as a “great man of peace” who would “inspire future generations of peacemakers and patriots”.
Colum Eastwood, Mr Hume’s successor as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party, warned that Mr Johnson should not shrug off Mr Biden’s words on protecting peace in Ireland.
“Unlike Donald Trump, Joe Biden actually knows what the Good Friday Agreement is. He has a longstanding commitment and understanding of the Northern Ireland issues,” he said.
Mr Eastwood added that Mr Biden would be a “very different kind of president” and would be building bridges. “He won’t be seeking arguments around the world. He will want to work very closely with the UK, he will want there to be a trade deal even if he doesn’t agree with Brexit,” he added.
Allies of Mr Johnson pointed out that Brexit would soon be resolved and that 2021 would mark a fresh start for UK-US relations.
“We have a real opportunity with a new president. I think there is more in common [with Mr Biden] than may first appear,” one well-placed Tory said.
Officials in Westminster admitted it would “be much easier” to work with Mr Biden on policy terms than Mr Trump. “The route for the UK into Biden is policy,” said one official. “We agree a lot.”
Security issues regarding Russia, democracy in Hong Kong, and human rights across the globe are expected to feature in early talks with the new administration.
Climate change is the clearest route for the Johnson government to build bridges. The UK is hosting the next G7 summit and the COP26 climate change conference.
Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, said the UK should “make sure President Biden is closely involved with COP26 and the G7” so “both countries demonstrate our internationalism and green credentials”.
He added that Mr Johnson would need to rebuild European relations. “A Biden presidency would mean the UK would need to think hard about its relationship with the EU — not just trade but diplomacy. His administration will be looking for more co-ordination in their European relations,” he said.
Whitehall officials said Mr Johnson was eager to be one of the first international leaders to call Mr Biden once his victory was confirmed and would “press these policy points” with him.
The other major challenge for Mr Johnson will be securing a UK-US trade deal. Negotiations began under the Trump administration, but did not near fruition.
The Department for International Trade is not expecting a Biden administration to prioritise trade talks to the same degree, but remains “extremely hopeful”.
On trade policy, the change of administration is unlikely to alter the key issues.
“Agriculture will be a massive priority for the US whether there is a Republican or Democrat administration,” said Nick von Westenholz, director of trade at the National Farmers Union. “Discussions over contentious subjects such as food safety and chemicals within food are not going away.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiP2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50Lzc3ZWQxOTVjLTMwM2UtNDljZi1hZGI5LTlhYWRiM2Y4MGJhMtIBP2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmZ0LmNvbS9jb250ZW50Lzc3ZWQxOTVjLTMwM2UtNDljZi1hZGI5LTlhYWRiM2Y4MGJhMg?oc=5
2020-11-07 19:05:00Z
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