U.S. President Donald Trump said he was open to “refining” America’s trade deal with Britain just hours before arriving in London for his second state visit, during which he unveiled a sweeping technology pact with major U.S. firms pledging £31 billion ($42 billion) of investment in the UK. Speaking to reporters outside the White House before boarding his flight, Trump described his relationship with the UK as “very good” and signaled flexibility over the post-Brexit trade deal announced earlier this year with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit,” he said. “We made a deal, and it’s a great deal. And I’m into helping them. They’d like to see if they could get a little bit better deal, and we’ll talk to them.”
The president’s three-day visit, which he called a “great honour,” will include high-level talks with Starmer, a banquet at Windsor Castle hosted by King Charles, and the signing of a new “Tech Prosperity Deal.” Trump remarked on the significance of the occasion, noting that it was unusual for a U.S. leader to be honoured with a state visit twice, and said his friendship with King Charles made the event especially meaningful. The choice of Windsor Castle as the venue was also highlighted by the president, who said it was “the ultimate” royal setting while Buckingham Palace undergoes renovations until 2027.
The technology pact signed on Tuesday marked one of the most significant outcomes of the visit, committing both nations to deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and civil nuclear energy. British officials said the deal would accelerate scientific research, support energy security and drive economic growth, with some of the biggest names in U.S. technology announcing major new investments. Microsoft pledged £22 billion to expand AI and cloud infrastructure, including Britain’s largest AI supercomputer in Loughton, north-east London. Nvidia revealed plans to deploy 120,000 graphics processing units across the UK, its largest rollout in Europe, and will partner with OpenAI and UK-based Nscale as part of the U.S. company’s “Stargate” supercomputing project. Google confirmed a £5 billion package including a new data centre in Waltham Cross and continued funding for AI research through its DeepMind subsidiary. Cloud computing firm CoreWeave committed £1.5 billion to energy-efficient data centres in partnership with Scottish firm DataVita, bringing its total UK investment to £2.5 billion. Salesforce, Oracle, BlackRock, Amazon Web Services and several other firms also announced commitments ranging from hundreds of millions to several billion pounds.
Executives framed the investments as transformational for Britain’s role in global technology. David Hogan, Nvidia’s vice president for enterprise, said the announcements would “truly make the UK an AI maker, not an AI taker.” Microsoft’s president Brad Smith noted that relations had improved markedly since the UK dropped its opposition to the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, adding that he felt “enormously better” about operating in Britain. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chair and CEO, emphasised that the company wanted to ensure America remained a trusted and reliable technology partner for the UK.
Despite the optimism, key trade frictions remain unresolved. British steel continues to face a 25 percent tariff in the U.S., though ministers hope to announce progress on reducing the levies soon. “When it comes to steel, we will make sure that we have an announcement as soon as possible,” Business Secretary Peter Kyle said in a BBC interview. Meanwhile, British officials held urgent talks in Washington this week to push for Scotch whisky to be exempted from a 10 percent tariff imposed on UK exports. Trump acknowledged the concerns but gave no guarantees on immediate relief.
For Starmer, the flurry of announcements represents a major political opportunity at home. With Britain’s economy struggling to escape years of sluggish growth, the prime minister is attempting to pitch the country as a magnet for high-tech investment by adopting a lighter-touch regulatory model than the European Union. “This deal has the potential to shape the future of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic, and deliver growth and security,” he said. The Trump administration has long criticised EU-style digital regulations and online taxes, including those previously introduced in Britain, and Washington welcomed the UK government’s willingness to move closer to the U.S. approach.
Trump’s arrival at London Stansted Airport on Tuesday evening, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, was met by Viscount Henry Hood on behalf of King Charles. From there, the president travelled to London ahead of a packed schedule that will combine political talks, ceremonial pageantry and economic diplomacy. For Trump, the visit serves as both a showcase of his personal ties with Britain’s leadership and an opportunity to cement a legacy-defining agreement linking the U.S. and UK in trade, technology and security.
