President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer signed what the latter referred to as a “groundbreaking” new U.K.-U.S. Tech Prosperity Deal on Thursday.
Praising the commitment, Starmer said “the deals and investment being announced today break all records.”
“What a day, 250 billion pounds [340 billion dollars] flowing both ways across the Atlantic,” Starmer said. “It is the biggest investment package of its kind in British history by a country mile.”
The deal focuses heavily on AI investment, with Starmer announcing significant investments from companies including Nvidia, Nscale, OpenAI, Google, and Salesforce that would create “cutting-edge British jobs for years to come.” Per Starmer, up to 15,000 jobs are expected to be created as a direct result of the investments.
Described by Starmer as a “blueprint to win this new era,” the deal also includes commitments to the energy sector.
“To fuel this revolution, we have struck a new deal on civil nuclear power,” he said, adding that 12 new advanced nuclear reactors are set to be built in the northeast of England, providing the opportunity to generate energy “for millions of homes and businesses driving down bills on both sides of the Atlantic and driving up energy security.”
A press release from 10 Downing Street referred to the deal as “the largest commercial package ever secured during a State Visit, underscoring the power of the U.K.-U.S. economic partnership.”
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Within the release, a $30 billion investment from Microsoft, alongside $6.8 billion from Google, and other AI investment packages will be pumped into the U.K.’s technology sector to ramp up data centers, research labs, and fund plans for the country’s “largest supercomputer in partnership with Nscale.”
The deal looks set to strongly establish American AI companies as underpinning the AI industry in the U.K., during a global race to dominate the technology.
Starmer said U.S. companies had pledged £150 billion ($204 billion) in investment in the United Kingdom, including £90 billion ($122 billion) from investment firm Blackstone over the next 10 years. Almost $30 billion has been invested by pharmaceutical firm GSK in the U.S.
“Quantum computing fusion, 6G, and civil nuclear energy” were all areas that Trump said were at the center of the deal that aims to increase “deregulation and innovation.”
Trump took the opportunity to once again praise the “special” relationship between the U.S. and U.K.
“It’s an unbreakable bond we have. Regardless of what we’re doing today, I think it’s unbreakable,” he remarked.
“The United States and the United Kingdom have done more good on this planet than any two nations in human history,” the President claimed during a press briefing after the signing. Starmer echoed those remarks, stating that the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. has “shaped the world.”
Trump also thanked Starmer and his wife, Victoria, for welcoming him at Chequers, the countryside residence of the U.K. Prime Minister.
He went on to pay tribute to King Charles III and Queen Camilla for hosting him and Melania at Windsor Castle, and said he will forever be thankful to the king for the “fantastic” time he had at the state banquet.
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This isn’t the first time Trump and Starmer have marked the “special” U.K.-U.S. relationship by hashing out a mutually-beneficial deal. The world leaders announced a trade agreement between the U.K. and U.S. in May.
At the time, Trump said the agreement affirmed that “reciprocity and fairness is an essential and vital principle of international trade.”
Trump said he would keep in place his 10% base tariff on most goods coming from the U.K. to the U.S. The deal opened up the U.K. market to American exports including ethanol, agriculture, and machinery and eliminated tariffs on steel and aluminum between the two countries. “They’ll also be fast-tracking American goods through their customs process, so our exports go to a very, very quick form of approval. There won’t be any red tape,” Trump said of the U.K. partnership.
Starmer called the agreement “historic” on the day of its unveiling, adding that it “delivers for British businesses and protects U.K. jobs.”
Looking back on the trade agreement during Thursday’s press briefing, Trump praised the benefits for the U.S. economy, specifically opportunities for American farmers.
“The United Kingdom became the first country to make a trade deal with the United States during my second term, and we sort of wanted to make it the first because the bond is so strong,” he said. “That agreement will create billions of dollars in opportunities for American farmers to sell their products into the U.K., reduce barriers to trade, and give U.S. manufacturers better access to the U.K.’s world-class aerospace supply chain.”
