President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer signed what the latter referred to as a “ground-breaking” 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 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.”
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.
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.
Trump also thanked Starmer and his wife, Victoria, for welcoming him at Chequers, the countryside residence of the U.K. Prime Minister.
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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.
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.”
Prior to leaving the White House for London on Tuesday, Trump said it’s a “great deal” but hinted there may be more refinement on the specifics in the future.
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