US pauses UK Tech Prosperity Deal as trade frictions resurface
Frustration over lingering UK trade barriers threatens momentum behind the flagship US-UK innovation partnership championed by Imperial.
Implementation of the “landmark” US-UK Tech Prosperity Deal, which was celebrated with a panel of high-profile officials on Imperial’s South Kensington campus in September, has reportedly been paused by the US administration.
The setback comes amid frustration by the US administration regarding various trade barriers which UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer continues to uphold.
The two nations struck a trade agreement in May, with Starmer hoping to soften the blow of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on UK goods. However, reports suggest that the Trump administration is increasingly frustrated both by the UK’s remaining digital services tax, affecting the likes of Amazon, Google and Apple, and its food safety regulations, which bar the import of American products such as chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef.
UK officials are downplaying the news as routine deal-making tactics, insisting that the two countries remain engaged in “live negotiations.”
Imperial has positioned itself as a leading force in advancing the Tech Prosperity deal, stepping up collaboration with US partners on quantum science, biotechnology, space exploration, and entrepreneurial innovation.
In September, it convened UK and US biotechnology experts to discuss enhanced collaboration on biosecurity infrastructure and celebrated the launch of NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, equipped by technology developed by Imperial researchers. The university’s San Francisco hub hosted a special reception in October for experts in science, business and venture capital to explore how joint innovation can “fuel a new era of science-led enterprise between London and the San Francisco Bay Area.”
The implications of the paused negotiations for ongoing projects remain unclear. The BBC reported that the £31 billion investment plans announced by Microsoft, Nvidia and Google as part of the deal are allegedly unaffected.
Referring to the May trade deal, Trump’s science advisor Michael Kratsios wrote on X: “We hope to resume work with the United Kingdom once the UK has made substantial progress in implementing its commitments under the Economic Prosperity Deal.”
Kratsios was joined by UK trade secretary Peter Kyle and UK technology secretary Liz Kendall on a panel at Imperial’s South Kensington campus in September. Just last week, Kyle travelled to the US for talks with trade officials and technology firms with the aim of “progressing our trade deal and securing the investment that will power growth.”
Kyle’s representatives told Reuters that the two countries had agreed to continue negotiations in January.
