On Friday, the G-7 summit will get underway in Cornwall, England. But we’re already getting a bit of news. On Thursday, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to sign a new Atlantic Charter on the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Originally agreed in the summer of 1941, the Atlantic Charter gave form to Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s ambition that a new international order would prevail when World War II was won. Centered on democratic sovereignty, individual rights, and free trade, the charter has largely endured to this day. The new charter supports similar interests. These include “defending democracy, reaffirming the importance of collective security, and building a fair and sustainable global trading system.”
Still, below the surface, Biden and Johnson have some separate priorities.
On Biden’s side, this charter is about reinforcing Britain’s commitment to the U.S.-led liberal international order. Of particular concern to the U.S. is Britain’s increased support for America’s effort to constrain China’s global imperialism. As did the Trump administration, the Biden administration wants to see more British restrictions on Chinese investments and greater British skepticism of Chinese technology companies, which Johnson only grudgingly accepted in relation to Huawei and 5G.
Johnson’s priority here is to ensure the special relationship is visibly sustained. Biden is viewed by the British government as somewhat hostile to its interests, primarily due to the president’s views on political tensions in Ireland.
In turn, the prime minister will see this updated charter as a means to boost Britain’s post-Brexit prestige and remind the world that its most powerful nation is best friends with Britain. This bears particular importance in relation to the European Union, whose leaders will also attend the G-7 talks. British trade talks with the EU are struggling, and Johnson is less confident of agreement than he was before reaching the January 2020 Brexit withdrawal deal. Johnson will hope that the updated charter persuades the EU to make more compromises — that EU leaders will see the charter and think that to put too much pressure on Britain will risk their isolating the Biden administration. It might just work. EU leaders are already well aware that the U.S. is dissatisfied with their appeasement policies toward China, failure to invest in defense spending (Russia lurks — perhaps closer than assumed), and protectionist legal pursuit of American technology firms.
So, yes, the new charter might appear to be a simple reassertion of deep historical bonds. Beyond its paper text, however, both Johnson and Biden have their own interests in mind.
