The United States and Britain are poised to announce sweeping agreements on technology and civil nuclear energy as US President Donald Trump embarks on his unprecedented second state visit to the UK this week. British officials hope the visit will also pave the way to finalising lower tariffs on steel and aluminium, a key sticking point in an ambitious new trade deal.
Trump and First Lady Melania will arrive in London on Wednesday to the full grandeur of British royal pageantry, including a horse-drawn carriage procession, a military flypast, a state banquet, and a gun salute. The pomp underscores the diplomatic importance of the trip as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to bind Washington and London closer together on defence, security, and energy cooperation.
Starmer will host Trump at his official country residence, Chequers, on Thursday for talks expected to focus on Ukraine, trade, and joint investment in technology. Both leaders are expected to unveil a “world-leading tech partnership” alongside multi-billion-dollar deals to build small nuclear projects, which could help power energy-intensive artificial intelligence data centres in the UK. “The UK-US relationship is the strongest in the world,” Starmer’s spokesperson said, promising “a step change” in the alliance.
The Labour prime minister and the Republican president two men with starkly different political instincts have nevertheless forged a functional relationship. Starmer was the first world leader to strike a deal with Trump on reducing global tariffs, which paved the way for lower duties on cars, steel, and aluminium. While car tariffs were settled in June, the final terms for steel and aluminium remain outstanding. “When it comes to steel, we will make sure we have an announcement as soon as possible,” British business minister Peter Kyle said.
In the run-up to Trump’s arrival, Britain announced £1.25 billion ($1.69 billion) in US investments from PayPal, Bank of America, and others. Nvidia and OpenAI are also expected to unveil investment commitments under the tech partnership, while CoreWeave, a US cloud computing firm, confirmed it would expand operations in Britain.
But the visit comes at a politically awkward moment for Starmer, following his dismissal of Peter Mandelson, Britain’s ambassador to Washington, over revelations about Mandelson’s connections to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson’s sacking, less than a year after his high-profile appointment, has rattled Westminster and threatens to complicate coordination during Trump’s visit.
The diplomatic embarrassment is especially acute given the stakes. This will be Trump’s second visit to Britain in as many months, following a July trip to his golf courses in Scotland. Starmer’s government hopes to offset the controversy with headline investment announcements and cultural tie-ups, including initiatives to promote basketball in Britain and partnerships between leading heritage and arts institutions.
With the red carpets ready and the ink nearly dry on landmark agreements, Starmer is betting that the combination of royal ceremony, economic investment, and strategic alignment will both charm Trump and cement Britain’s post-Brexit partnership with Washington.
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
