Biden, UK’s Johnson talk trade and trains in White House meeting By Reuters

By Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned the risks of local weather change and bantered concerning the joys of rail journey on Tuesday throughout an Oval Workplace assembly aimed toward highlighting the U.S.-British alliance.

Biden advised the visiting prime minister, who as soon as frightened his heat relationship with former President Donald Trump would harm relations underneath the U.S. Democratic chief, that he regarded ahead to coming to the UK for a convention on world warming later this 12 months.

“It is implausible to see the USA actually stepping up and exhibiting a lead, an actual, actual lead,” Johnson mentioned, referring to the difficulty of worldwide warming. Beneath Biden, the USA has renewed pledges to chop greenhouse gases and promised to finance initiatives to fight local weather change.

Johnson took the Amtrak practice from the United Nations Normal Meeting in New York to Washington for the assembly. “They love you,” Johnson mentioned to Biden, seemingly referring to the U.S. railway employees. Biden was a daily practice commuter for over 30 years.

“We will speak about commerce,” Biden mentioned when requested a few potential UK-US commerce settlement, which might be of nice significance for post-Brexit Britain.

Johnson first met Vice President Kamala Harris, who mentioned the USA and Britain are extra interconnected than ever earlier than. Tackling the pandemic, coping with local weather change and upholding democracy around the globe remained high priorities for each international locations, Harris mentioned.

Johnson praised the U.S. navy’s position within the “Kabul airlift” and thanked the U.S. authorities for lifting a ban final 12 months on imports of British beef imposed after an outbreak of mad cow illness.

“I need to thank the U.S. authorities, your authorities, for the various methods wherein we’re cooperating now, I feel, at the next and extra intense stage than at any time I can bear in mind,” Johnson mentioned.

Johnson’s group regards the go to as a triumph, demonstrating that Britain can thrive on the world stage after its divorce final 12 months from the European Union. It comes amid a U.S. rift with EU rival France, wherein Britain performed an important half.

A submarine deal the USA and Britain just lately introduced with Australia got here at France’s expense, prompting France to withdraw its ambassadors to the USA and Australia and cancel a protection assembly with Britain.

France continues to see Britain because the junior associate within the long-running “particular relationship” between the USA and Britain, some say, years after former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was ridiculed for supporting U.S. President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq in March 2003.