Rishi Sunak to visit US for talks with Joe Biden

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Washington next week for talks with US President Joe Biden.

The leaders are expected to discuss trade as well as the war in Ukraine.

The White House said the pair would also discuss the situation in Northern Ireland.

The prospect of a full-blown free trade agreement between the two countries has waned since Mr Biden took office and is not on the agenda.

Instead the UK is seeking deals with individuals states and agreements have already been signed with North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana.

The prime minister's official spokesman said the visit would focus on "enhancing the level of co-operation and co-ordination between the UK and US on the economic challenges that will define our future, including securing our supply chains and transitioning to zero-carbon economies".

He said the UK was not currently seeking a free-trade deal with the UK but was instead focusing on targeted agreements, for example on Scotch whiskey and with specific states.

Mr Sunak will fly to the US on 7 June and is due to visit the White House the following day.

During the visit he will also meet congressional figures and US business leaders.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "Building on their recent engagements, the two leaders will review a range of global issues, including their steadfast support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's brutal war of aggression, as well as further action to bolster energy security and address the climate crisis.

"The president and the prime minister will discuss efforts to continue strengthening our economic relationship as we confront shared economic and national security challenges.

"They will also review developments in Northern Ireland as part of their shared commitment to preserving the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement."

Mr Biden spent four days in Ireland in April to mark 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement, the deal which brought an end to the decades-long Troubles conflict.

The US president spent the majority of his time in the Republic of Ireland but also met Mr Sunak in Belfast, although commentators remarked on his limited contact with the prime minister during the visit.

Mr Biden has urged Northern Ireland's politicians to return to power-sharing, which collapsed last year after the Democratic Unionist Party pulled out in protest over post-Brexit rules.

The US is a significant trading partner, accounting for 16.6% of total UK trade.

Brexit supporters had previously touted the prospect of a US-UK trade deal as a key benefit of leaving the EU, but since he became president Mr Biden has played down the chances of this.

The UK is still seeking closer economic ties with individual states, with talks taking place with Utah, Oklahoma, Texas and California.

Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves also visited Washington last week, where she met US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

During her trip, Ms Reeves spoke of her admiration of Mr Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to tame rising prices by subsidising green technology to encourage investment.

Government ministers have been more critical of the act, raising concerns it could herald a slide into protectionism and harm other economies.

Mr Sunak and Mr Biden have met frequently in recent months, including in San Diego in March, where the prime minister agreed a defence deal with the US President and Australian leader Anthony Albanese.