Government response
Letter to the Chair of the Committee from the
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, dated
6 April 2010
I would like to thank the Committee for its Report
into UK-US Relations. The Committee has rightly captured the very
broad and deep nature of this relationship and recognises the
good work being carried out by our network of posts in the US.
I have followed the structure of your Report in framing
my answer below.
THE BASIS AND NATURE OF THE UK-US RELATIONSHIP
There is of course a lot of shared history in our
relationship. But the special relationship has changed with the
times and will keep changing. Today's relationship is not the
relationship of wartime allies against Nazism in the 1940s, nor
should it be. It is a partnership of two 21st-century and rapidly-changing
powers.
Alongside the core of intelligence and defence—the
shared mission in Afghanistan, the co-operation on terrorism,
the work together on Iran and so on—is a profound set of
links in other areas. We are each other's biggest investment partner
with almost a million jobs in each country created by investment
from the other; our cultures and societies are transparent to
each other; our educational links are profound with between us
every one of the world's top ten universities and in each direction
more student exchanges than with anyone else; we are the top two
countries for Nobel prizes. So our scientists and educators are
shaping the future together.
We share both a set of values about the world and
a commitment to engagement and leadership—on foreign policy
issues like Afghanistan and Iran, on climate and non-proliferation,
on the G20 where the PM and the President led the world's response
to the financial crisis.
So the "special relationship" is not some
historical artefact but the sum of countless collaborations between
our governments, our institutions and our people on the key issues
that confront the world. Our relationship is not based on sentiment
but is about pursuing our own shared national self interests and
our shared values and ideals.
The Report recommends that the use of the phrase
should be avoided. It certainly should not be over-used; but as
Ivan Lewis said in his evidence session on 16 December, the reality
is that we have had for a very long time, and continue to have,
a special relationship with the US. The last two US Secretaries
of State have in my presence used it naturally and convincingly.
Often our foreign policy interests and objectives, and the national
interest, are best pursued by our engagement with the US. It clearly
is not to the exclusion of other relationships; the Government
believes, on the basis of experience, that in fact one of the
key elements of our relationship is Britain's strength in Europe,
where UK leadership and engagement is important. The US has important
relationships with many other countries, and so do we; but it
is our most important bilateral relationship, and there is no
other country with which the US has such wide and deep co-operation
in some of the most sensitive areas of national security.
UK-US MILITARY AND DEFENCE COOPERATION
I am glad that the Committee concludes that reports
of dissatisfaction with the capabilities of the British Military
appear to be exaggerated. We work very closely with the US on
military and defence issues and our senior military are in regular
and close contact: these concerns are not raised at these levels
and do not tally with what senior commanders have said in public.
I am confident that the contribution of British forces
is recognised, admired and valued by US officers. But I share
the Committee's concerns that such rumours exist at all, especially
when the senior NATO and US commander on the ground, General McChrystal
said, "I am in awe of the performance of the British brothers
whom I have been honoured to work with for a number of years now",
and when the Commander of US Central Command, General Petraeus
said "I have always been impressed by the courage, capacity
for independent action, skill and exceptional will of your soldiers";
"British troops have been in a very tough place and they
have done exceedingly well".
The Report recommends that the Government should
establish a comprehensive review of the current arrangements governing
US military use of facilities within the UK and in British Overseas
Territories. I note this recommendation and will explore it with
the MOD and other stakeholders.
THE FUTURE DEFENCE RELATIONSHIP
I disagree with the Committee that the UK's influence
with the US will necessarily diminish. Our Defence relationship
is strong and, like the wider relationship, continues to develop
over time as we both adapt to the changing threats in the world.
We are working closely with the US in new and emerging areas like
cyber and nuclear security, building on years of extraordinarily
close co-operation across a full range of military capabilities.
I agree that the UK's foreign and security policy
interests should be driven by our interests—that is why
we work so closely with the US in places like Afghanistan and
in other areas of Defence co-operation, like the nuclear relationship.
As set out in the recent Green Paper, this will be something that
will be addressed in the forthcoming Defence Review.
THE DEFENCE TRADE COOPERATION TREATY
I agree that quick ratification of the Defence Trade
Cooperation Treaty will improve interoperability between US and
UK Armed Forces. Her Majesty's Government will continue to work
with the US Administration to make this happen as quickly as possible.
I raised this issue with Secretary of State Clinton and Senator
Kerry (Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) during
my visit to Washington on 21 January.
The US Administration fully supports the Treaty.
Ratification requires the agreement of the US Senate who are currently
addressing the arrangements required to implement the Treaty.
Senator Kerry said publicly on 21 January that he recognised that
the Treaty was of "great concern" to the UK and that
he and Senator Lugar (the Ranking Republican Member of the Committee)
were "determined to move forward". The Treaty will represent
a significant change in how exports for UK and US government end-use
are managed, and the Senate is understandably giving it thorough
consideration.
UK-US INTELLIGENCE CO-OPERATION
The Report highlights correctly the importance of
UK-US intelligence co-operation. The Government is still considering
the full implications of the Court of Appeal's judgement for that
co-operation. Like the Committee, I welcome the Court's reaffirmation
of the importance of the principle that intelligence material
provided by one country to another should not be released without
the originating country's consent.
THE FCO'S US NETWORK
The Report highlights the financial pressure that
the FCO has been operating under. The US network, like the majority
of our overseas posts, has had to cope with the impact of exchange
rate movements on the FCO's purchasing power overseas. The network
took a series of tough measures to manage the impact in financial
year 2009-10, including some redundancies, a freeze on new recruitment
and non-core training. Locally-engaged staff were also asked to
take one week's unpaid leave (not uncommon in the US). Some employer
pension payments (401k) were temporarily suspended, but restored
and back-dated later in the Financial Year. For the year ahead,
however, the freeze on new recruitment has been lifted, and there
is sufficient funding for training and pay increases. The package
of measures that I presented to Parliament in my written statement
of 10 February have ensured that we can continue to manage the
impact of exchange rate movements in 2010/11.
The Committee also requests the FCO to provide a
view about the minimum funding it considers necessary for our
work in the US. The US network's initial budget allocation for
financial year 2010/11 is $38.3 million USD, which will be sufficient
for it to discharge effectively its functions and obligations.
Future allocations will depend on the shape and size of the US
network and what it is tasked to do.
THE BRITISH POLITICAL APPROACH TO UK-US RELATIONS
Partnership
The nature of the UK's relationship with the US is
one of partnership. We each pursue our national self-interests
but in the pursuit of shared goals and values. Because of its
size the US is able to bring in many areas more resources to bear
than the UK, though this does not mean that the relationship is
a subservient one.
Ministerial time and focus
I disagree that there is a lack of Ministerial focus
on the US in the FCO. I devote a significant amount of my time
to issues that involve the US as does Ivan Lewis. This goes beyond
the simply bilateral and covers the broad range of interests that
we share. It is important to understand as well the very broad
nature of the relationship and the engagement of many Ministers
in many Departments across the range of UK interests.
THE FUTURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP
I agree that structural shifts produced by globalisation
pose new challenges, but the FCO is already adapting to them.
Our strategic framework, adopted in 2008, gives priority to tackling
global issues such as Climate Change and Conflict Prevention.
New challenges do not make the transatlantic partnership marginal;
areas such as Counter Terrorism and Counter Proliferation bring
our common long-term interests into sharp relief, putting a premium
on increased co-operation with the US, and we have worked effectively
together to meet them. The transatlantic economic relationship
remains the biggest in the world economy and is a source of long-term
strength for both the US and the UK because, in contrast to those
with some emerging economies, it is balanced on both trade and
investment.
The Report is right to recognise that both the UK
and US are changing. That's why the UK's diplomatic network in
North America is investing in building relationships with new
generations of Americans, business and political leaders, through
our work with US universities and think tanks and with our programme
of education scholarships. We are confident that the people to
people links between our two countries will continue to provide
a solid foundation for the political relationship between our
two governments.
Our foreign policy will continue to be based on our
pragmatic pursuit of our national self-interest and our partnerships
with other countries will reflect this. The US is our most important
bilateral ally and as the Prime Minister said, during his address
to the Joint Session of the US Congress, this is 'a partnership
of purpose' based on our evaluation of our current interests,
not just the depth of our shared culture and history.
David Miliband MP
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