Trump arrives in UK for second state visit amid rising political tensions
President Donald Trump arrived at Winfield House, the residence of the US ambassador to the UK, on Tuesday night, marking the beginning of a state visit to Britain that will include a state banquet hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle and a bilateral meeting with Sir Keir Starmer at Chequers, the prime minister’s country estate.
Trump’s visit is also expected to include the launch of schemes to boost co-operation between the countries in the fields of artificial intelligence and nuclear technologies. A group of US CEOs are expected to participate in some of the meetings.
“We just had a good flight, a lot of people came with us. Tomorrow’s going to be a very big day,” Trump said as he arrived at Winfield House.
For Trump, his second state visit marks his return to the UK after a July trip to Scotland, where he owns golf clubs in Turnberry and near Aberdeen.
When asked about King Charles he responded: “We are going to see him tomorrow. He’s been a friend of mine for a long time. And everybody respects him; and they love him.”
The visit is happening against the backdrop of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, in Utah last week, as well as the burgeoning scandal over Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier, which led to the sacking of Lord Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US. But Trump decided to press ahead with the trip.
US tech giants pledge billions for UK AI infrastructure during Trump visit
US tech giants including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and OpenAI said they would together invest tens of billions of pounds to build computing infrastructure in the UK, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed a new tech alliance with President Donald Trump.
The largest commitment comes from Microsoft, which plans to invest $30bn in artificial intelligence in the four years to 2028, about half of which will go towards cloud and AI infrastructure in Britain.
That includes backing construction of the UK’s largest supercomputer with 23,000 AI chips, agreeing a long-term leasing contract with London-based data centre company Nscale.
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UK pauses push for 0% tariff on steel exports to US
Sir Keir Starmer has put on hold hopes of a 0 per cent US tariff for a quota of British steel exports in favour of negotiating with Donald Trump a “permanent” 25 per cent tariff for all steel exports.
The prime minister’s allies told the Financial Times that a guaranteed 25 per cent tariff for UK steel exports would provide “certainty” to the industry and a competitive advantage as it is half the 50 per cent rate paid by other countries.
Although Starmer’s team still hopes to move towards a zero per cent tariff over time, the outline deal struck in the past 24 hours between London and Washington will be seen by some as a capitulation by the prime minister.
Read more here.