UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s first visit to the White House yesterday (27 February) with newly elected US President Donald Trump centred around an economic deal between the two nations.
The two leaders of their respective countries were in Washington D.C. to meet for the first time, and whilst being at opposite ends of the political spectrum, Starmer and Trump appeared to be on the same page when it comes to developing artificial intelligence.
The emerging technology has been one of the most significant technological developments since the turn of the decade, with the UK Prime Minister taking a “pro-growth and pro-innovation” stance.
His US counterpart Trump has also warmed to AI after previously labelling it “very dangerous” during his campaign before being elected last November.
Opposite Trump, Starmer addressed the media in the US, praising both countries’ commitment when it comes to being the top two nations for technological innovation and “leaders in AI”.
He stated: “We’re leaders together in so many areas. Ranked one in two in the world for investments, one and two in the world for universities, one and two for Nobel prizes, and only one and two with trillion dollar tech sectors, and leaders in AI.
“We take a similar approach on this issue. Instead of overregulating these new technologies and the opportunities they offer, we’ve decided today to go further and begin work on a new economic deal with advanced technology at its core.
“Our two great nations together shaped the great technological innovations of the last century. We have the same now for the 21st century. Artificial intelligence could cure cancer, that could be a moonshot for our age, and that’s how we will keep delivering for our people.
“There are so many opportunities; keep our nations strong and fulfil the promise of greatness that has always defined this relationship.”
UK/US side with AI innovation over regulation
Whilst many political reporters anticipated a frosty first meeting between Starmer and Trump, their similar views on how to develop AI could prove to be significantly profitable for both countries’ tech sectors.
Both have cautioned on the side of overregulation in favour of allowing big tech companies and startups to flourish in their development. The launch of the Chinese AI model Deepseek will have only served to fuel both the UK and US to accelerate their development of their own AI models in the ongoing AI arms race.
Whilst the UK, US and China appear to be favouring innovation, the European Union (EU) has sided with a more regulatory approach, launching the EU AI Act at the start of February.
The legislation requires AI models and AI-backed technologies to abide by guidelines that protect consumers and make sure the technology is being used responsibly at the risk of falling foul, which could result in major penalties.
Starmer has continually reiterated his intentions to provide necessary support to the UK’s burgeoning tech and fintech sectors, with London being the second-largest fintech sector in the world behind Silicon Valley in first.
AI will prove to be an extremely important device for fintech companies to utilise in order to not only develop its sector, but to attract domestic and international investment to further fuel its growth.
UK tariffs off the table… for now
Another key focus point of the Starmer Trump economic deal revolves around tariffs and if they were to be applied to UK imported goods.
Tariffs have been one of the most prominent features of Trump’s first 100 days in office as part of his economic strategy to increase domestic growth. The US President has already placed 25% charges on Canadian and Mexican imported goods and 10% tariffs on Chinese imports.
Starmer would have been keen to agree a trade deal with Trump that involves no tariffs being applied to UK imports, which Trump gave a jokingly vague answer as to whether he would implement.
When asked if Starmer had persuaded him against UK tariffs, he commented: “He tried. He was working hard I tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there.”
Zero UK tariffs will go a long way for an economic deal to be agreed upon by the two nations and for the relationship between two of the most influential global leaders.
