Sunak’s US Visit Must Prove to Biden Brexit Was Worth It

Sunak, whose Conservative government and Conservative Party both face low poll numbers at home as compared to their rivals, the left-wing Labour, will seek to prove that his party has not sacrificed London’s "special relationship" with Washington by pushing ahead with Brexit - Britain's dramatic divorce with the European Union.

An election can come no later than January 2025, and the Tories have yet to deliver on the promised US-UK free trade deal that former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said would offset the economic damage of leaving the Brussels-centered bloc.

Alistair Jones, associate professor of politics at the UK’s De Montfort University, told Sputnik on Wednesday that "optics will be very important" for Sunak's visit, not just for a British audience, but also for a deeply skeptical American one.

"A major problem in this special relationship is Brexit, and specifically the Northern Ireland situation. The US is one of the guarantors of the Northern Ireland peace agreement, and Brexit has placed a great strain on the peace agreement," Jones said, noting that "there can be no border on the island of Ireland but, with Brexit, there must be a hard border between the UK and the EU. The Northern Ireland Protocol was supposed to fix this problem but it is in the process of being superseded by the Windsor Framework."

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"The US perception is very much along the lines of Brexit being detrimental to the UK politically and economically, and to the broader political and economic relationship between the US and Europe," Jones said.

“In terms of trade, Sunak’s visit is not about working on a specific trade deal. Rather, it is about issues around trade and inward investment to the UK. A particular area of concern is the international regulation of AI,” he said, noting the possibility of war between the US and China in the future. “Neither would trust the other in terms of leading on such international regulation of AI so the UK is hoping to take the lead here. The issue of green subsidies, specifically in the automotive industry, is also going to be a point of discussion."

Jones said US and UK support for Kiev, which now includes Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles and the training of Ukrainian pilots on operating the US-made F-16 Falcon interceptor, would also figure prominently in their talks.

"There will be questions around the extent of the continuing support of Zelensky, and how much military equipment and technology will be given to the Ukrainian military. Linked to this is to work on a common position in relation to China and the extent to which China is giving tacit support to Russia," Jones observed.

Sunak's US Visit Must Prove to Biden Brexit Was Worth It