BritishAmerican Business (BAB) has today released a report providing an initial evaluation of progress made on the commitments set out in the Atlantic Declaration, signed six months ago by US President Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The Atlantic Declaration features 16 commitments aimed at strengthening trade collaboration and economic ties between the US and the UK, ranging from co-operation on economic security, defence and technology to digital transformation and clean energy.

In its report, BAB calls on the US and the UK governments to now prioritise the commitments that could have the biggest impact and the greatest chance of success. BAB identifies five commitments ranging from developing a workplan on critical and emerging technologies to setting up a US-UK Strategic Technologies Investor Council as well as optimising US-UK defence cooperation, especially by passing the ITAR exemption in Congress.

BAB also calls on the UK Government to publish its consultation on export controls before the end of the year and for the completion of the Critical Minerals Agreement.

BAB’s RAG (Red, Amber Green) report says that in the six months since the Atlantic Declaration was signed, there has been some commendable progress. At this early stage of the process, three of the commitments have been assigned a green rating, twelve an amber rating and only one has been rated red. Many of the commitments given an amber rating are yet to get underway but BAB will continue to update and monitor as the process evolves.

The report reveals that there has been strong progress in the areas of AI, most notably the UK hosted AI Safety Summit, the US-UK Data Bridge and on sanctions. However, there are yet to be any concrete developments in the area of emerging technologies. While some progress has been made on quantum technologies and cutting-edge telecoms, BAB also looks forward to seeing further cooperation in the areas of science and technology.

BAB CEO Duncan Edwards said:

“The commitments set out in the Atlantic Declaration have the potential to be transformative for the US and the UK trade and economic relationship, but this will only be realised if both governments fully commit to its implementation.

“Our RAG report offers an early-stage, impartial assessment of the progress made in the first six months and underscores the areas where more attention is needed. By providing this comprehensive evaluation BAB hopes to play a leading role in supporting the efforts of both governments as well as promoting accountability in the process.

“We now call on government officials to turn their focus to the most significant and deliverable of the commitments for US and UK businesses, which we have identified in our report.”

BAB will continue to track and monitor the pledges in the Atlantic Declaration through its Policy Agenda workstreams. BAB invites its members, policy makers and other stakeholders to engage with its policy work to help identify the top priorities affecting transatlantic trade and business.

Click here to access the report.