Boris Johnson with Donald Trump
Credit: AFP
Nato
Earlier this year Mr Biden told The Telegraph that Britain "still is in a special relationship, notwithstanding the way President Trump keeps talking about Europe and the world. Nato is critical."
He has committed to consulting allies and acting in a less unilateral manner than Mr Trump, with his commitment to an "America First" agenda.
Nato itself has invited Mr Biden to an early summit in 2021.
Mr Trump called Nato “obsolete” and lambasted allies as “delinquent,” forcing them to contribute more to defence budgets. A Nato diplomat said at the time: "Most allies want a Biden victory…"
Another said an early summit "would give Biden a platform to bring Europe and North America back together, and also give Nato a chance to put the Trump era behind it."
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Iran nuclear deal
Mr Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 but UK, along with France, Germany, China, and Russia, remains a signatory. The deal is on life support.
It has been one of the most divisive elements of Mr Trump’s foreign policy. He used a "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign against Iran, believing Iran would ultimately seek to negotiate a deal that was better for the West.
Mr Biden has been a vocal defender of the deal, which was negotiated while he was vice president.
He has indicted that, if Iran returns to "strict compliance" then the US will rejoin the UK and others in the deal.
Joe Biden on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania
Credit: Getty
Climate change
Mr Trump, as he always promised to do, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accord.
By contrast, Mr Biden has pledged to rejoin the agreement which aims to limit increases in global average temperatures to “well below 2C above pre-industrial levels". Boris Johnson’s government would welcome a US return to the agreement.
In his congratulatory tweet to Mr Biden, Mr Johnson described climate change as one of their "shared priorities".
In 2021 the UK is hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
Mr Biden and Mr Trump at the final debate
Credit: AP
It will be a major opportunity to promote Britain’s efforts on climate change.
Read more: President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office
Personal ties
Boris Johnson had a warm relationship with the US administration under Mr Trump, helping to bolster the special relationship.
But with Mr Biden he is starting from scratch, and the Democrat may prioritise relations with Brussels, and other European leaders.
Dominic Raab has indicated there will be different "contours to the opportunities and the risks" for the UK-US relationship.
Despite stressing he was "very confident the relationship will go from strength to strength," the Foreign Secretary said: "The contours of the opportunities and the risks always shift a little bit, but that needs to be set against the context of this bedrock and this wider set of interests which are so strong."
When Mr Biden was vice president, President Barack Obama had an excellent relationship with Angela Merkel, and its is possible Mr Biden could see the German Chancellor as his greatest friend across the Atlantic.
But Mr Johnson said: "There is far more that unites the government of this country and governments in Washington at any stage than divides us."
Read more: Meet Joe Biden’s presidential transition team
Joe Biden with Angela Merkel in 2015
Credit: ANDREAS GEBERT
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