Economic and defence cooperation must be the two pillars of the
UK-US alliance, the Prime Minister will tell US lawmakers and
businesspeople this week, as he travels to Washington DC.
Pointing to the role our defence partnership has played in
protecting our people for decades, the Prime Minister will say
that extensive cooperation on economic issues will allow us to do
the same thing for the next century.
In recent months and years, the world has seen an increasing
number of examples of hostile states using economic coercion to
their advantage. From Putin driving up European energy prices, to
China’s extensive use of sanctions to punish individuals and
government who speak out against human rights abuses.
While our traditional security remains paramount, those who seek
to do us harm are increasingly targeting other domains. They are
manipulating global markets, withholding crucial resources and
trying to establish a stranglehold over the industries that will
define our future.
If we are to stay one step ahead and ensure the safety and
prosperity of our citizens, we need to make sure our cooperation
on economic security is as extensive as our cooperation on
traditional security.
The existing strength of the UK-US economic relationship means we
are ideally placed to take on these challenges together. Our
trade relationship is worth £279 billion a year, and the amount
invested in one another’s economies has now surpassed £1
trillion.
US firms have committed more than £14 billion of new investment
in the UK, announced today. This includes £583 million of
investment in projects including World Fuel Services and Meld’s
green hydrogen facility in Hull, a new Mars facility in the
London Gateway Freeport, expansions of BNY Mellon’s existing and
Vanguard’s new Manchester offices and a new HCA Healthcare
facility in Birmingham. Between them these new investments will
create almost 2,500 jobs.
Further investments by US companies in the UK include £9 billion
from investment management company BlackRock – taking BlackRock’s
total UK investment to £500 billion, £2.4 billion invested by
Blackstone, £2 billion invested by KKR and £521m invested by
CD&R.
These investments are just a snapshot of the vast economic
connections between the UK and the US. In recent months US
company Nuveen has acquired Arcmont Asset Management for £800
million and Longfellow have established a £1.5 billion life
sciences and innovation real estate fund – bringing the total
value of major investments by US companies into the UK to nearly
£17 billion since the Prime Minister took office.
Because our economies are so interlinked, with nearly 1.5 million
Brits working for American companies and more than 1.2 million
Americans working for British companies, it is paramount that we
approach these issues in a unified and coordinated way.
The Prime Minister will use his visit to the US this week to
drive forward these efforts. In his meetings with President
Biden, Congresspeople and American business leaders he will
advocate for further joint action to safeguard against external
threats to our economies, strengthen our supply chains and
support the industries of the future.
The Prime Minister said:
The UK and US have always worked in lockstep to protect our
people and uphold our way of life. As the challenges and threats
we face change, we need to build an alliance that also protects
our economies.
Just as interoperability between our militaries has given us a
battlefield advantage over our adversaries, greater economic
interoperability will give us a crucial edge in the decades
ahead.
By combining our vast economic resources and expertise, we will
grow our economies, create jobs and keep our people safe long
into the future.
A re-energised and enhanced economic relationship between the UK
and the US presents huge opportunities for our people -
supporting the PM’s priority to grow our economy and create
better paying jobs.
Every day, innovations in science and technology are unlocking
new possibilities for our people and businesses – doing
everything from bringing down the cost of the things we buy to
accelerating our transition to clean energy.
In recent years the UK and US have taken a number of steps to
enhance our economic relationship, removing barriers including
the ban on British beef and lamb exports, and tariffs on steel
and whisky. In recent weeks we agreed a new deal to give
architects more access to US markets.
