Anglo-American Relations under Biden

Abstract

The article analyses the key trends in the Anglo-American Special Relationship during Joseph Biden’s presidency. The U.K. and the U.S. re-launched the ideological component of the relationship by signing the New Atlantic Charter. The military-political pillar was further strengthened, as Congress authorised funding for the W93 SLBM warhead for the U.K.’s Trident II D5, the U.K. and the U.S. sent a carrier strike group to the South China Sea, and the U.S., the U.K. and Australia signed the AUKUS pact. London relied on the alliance with the U.S. in the implementation of its Global Britain strategy; it had to seek the balance between its activity in the Euro - Atlantic region and the need to show its presence in the Indo - Pacific. Nevertheless, the countries’ interests do not always coincide: Washington’s unilateral decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan without consultations with its allies, including the U.K., was a tough challenge. Moreover, brexitiers’ hopes for a trade agreement with the U.S. failed to materialise; Trump’s punitive tariffs on steel and aluminium were rolled back only to be replaced by tariff rate quotas. Besides, a weak pound resulted in a number of takeovers of UK defence companies by American firms. The U.S. sided with the EU when Britain attempted to review the Northern Ireland Protocol. Still, disagreements on political issues between the leaders did not impede the strengthening of the institutional basis of the Anglo-American Special Relationship.