Trump and Starmer’s £31 billion tech deal put on ice: report
The US has paused its promised multi-billion-pound investment into British tech over trade disagreements, the Guardian reports.
A government source said the newspaper that it was “the usual bit of hardball negotiations by the Americans” and said that the deal to allow tariff-free British pharmaceutical exports to the US was on and off before it was finalised.
“[The US commerce secretary] Howard Lutnick is a tough guy. We understand that the Americans negotiate incredibly hard but we’ll stand our ground. They want what’s best for their country, we want what’s best for ours,” the source said.
A second government source said the development was “part of the shape of the negotiations” with Washington.
In September, the UK government hailed the recent US state visit as a landmark for the economy. A record £150 billion of inward investment was announced, including £31 billion targeted at artificial intelligence (AI) development.
The Tech Prosperity Deal aism to focus on developing the fastest growing technologies like AI, quantum, and nuclear, with the goal of making emerging technologies a shared success for British and American people.
This deal will see the UK and US collaborate on research to advance the use of AI in drug discovery and other shared priorities like fusion energy.
A civil nuclear deal has also been struck to speed up the delivery of nuclear projects, and the UK and US will partner to use AI and quantum technology to improve healthcare quality and outcomes.
Alongside this new tech alliance, top US tech giants including Microsoft, NVIDIA, Google, OpenAI, and CoreWeave have committed to invest £31 billion to boost the UK’s AI infrastructure.
The UK will establish a new AI growth zone in North East England, which it said has the potential to deliver thousands of jobs and funnel billions more in investment into the region.
“This Tech Prosperity Deal marks a generational step change in our relationship with the US, shaping the futures of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic, and delivering growth, security and opportunity up and down the country,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the time.
“By teaming-up with world-class companies from both the UK and US, we’re laying the foundations for a future where together we are world leaders in the technology of tomorrow, creating highly skilled jobs, putting more money in people’s pockets and ensuring this partnership benefits every corner of the United Kingdom.”
