April 25 U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Britain and Belgium in June, which will be his first overseas trip since taking office, the Financial Times reported. According to the Financial Times, Biden’s trip is seeking to restore transatlantic relations that cooled under former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The White House says Biden will attend the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, for bilateral meetings with other leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Biden will then travel to Brussels, Belgium, for a NATO summit, followed by a U.S.-European summit.
White House press secretary Jesaki Puig said Biden’s visit would “strengthen” the U.S. commitment to multilateralism, NATO and the principles of collective defense.
The Biden administration has made it clear that it wants to see a revival of the Western military alliance, which has been influenced by Mr. Trump’s attacks, criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron and tensions with Turkey.
According to the White House, Biden will discuss public health, economic recovery and climate change in the United Kingdom. The U.S.-European summit will cover the same issues, as well as digital and trade cooperation, as well as “foreign policy issues of common concern.”
The United States, the European Union and Britain have been trying to reach an agreement on a long-running trade dispute over aircraft subsidies. In March, the three parties agreed to suspend punitive tariffs for four months during the negotiations.
The U.S. is also at odds with Europe and the U.K. over the digital services tax and has threatened to impose import tariffs on countries that already have a digital services tax, exacerbating trade tensions.
