UK-US technology agreement faces difficult restart: Nuclear energy projects take the lead in "breaking the ice," while AI and quantum fields remain deadlocked.

UK-US technology agreement faces difficult restart: Nuclear energy projects take the lead in "breaking the ice," while AI and quantum fields remain deadlocked.

The US and UK have preliminarily restarted negotiations on the "Tech Prosperity Agreement," valued at several tens of billions of pounds. Civil nuclear energy has taken the lead in breaking the ice, but core technology areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing remain at a standstill.

Multiple sources familiar with the negotiations revealed to the media that senior officials from both countries have discussed cooperation on civilian nuclear technology and jointly holding a nuclear fusion technology summit. This cooperation framework, which was temporarily put on hold last year due to bilateral trade friction, is now gradually thawing.

The partial restart of the agreement is expected to directly benefit investment and project implementation by multinational energy companies, sharply reducing nuclear project regulatory approval cycles. Despite numerous uncertainties in the recent macro trade environment, market investors still hold expectations for the two countries' synergistic cooperation in traditional energy technology fields.

However, in this round of talks, cooperation in frontier fields such as AI and quantum computing—important components of the original agreement—has not made progress, highlighting that both countries still have rivalry and disagreements in broader tech sectors.

Nuclear Projects Take the Lead

Last September, during US President Trump’s state visit to the UK, the two countries made a high-profile announcement of the "Tech Prosperity Agreement," aimed at promoting cooperation in AI, quantum computing, and nuclear energy.

The UK previously stated that the agreement includes investment commitments from leading US tech companies worth £31 billion. To push the agreement’s restart, UK Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Trade and Investment Varun Chandra met with his US counterpart Jamieson Greer last month during the Davos World Economic Forum. Both sides agreed to resume cooperation in the nuclear section of the technology agreement. Meanwhile, UK officials also had constructive dialogue with Trump’s science advisor Michael Kratsios regarding tech collaboration.

The thawing of relations in the nuclear field will directly impact related companies. UK Prime Minister Starmer previously stated that the agreement will make it easier for companies to build new power stations in both countries, potentially shortening approval times for technology licenses from about three to four years to around two years. Related companies have already begun making arrangements. UK energy company Centrica and US nuclear group X-energy have signed an agreement to build an advanced high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in Hartlepool; aerospace and engineering company Rolls-Royce has entered the US regulatory approval process for small modular reactors, marking its intention to enter the US market.

Trade Friction Previously Stalled the Agreement

Progress on this technology agreement has not been smooth. In early December last year, the US unilaterally suspended the agreement’s implementation. According to sources, the suspension was due to growing disappointment among US officials over the UK’s lack of willingness to resolve "non-tariff barriers" in broader trade talks—mainly regulations related to food and industrial products.

At the time, the Trump administration was pressuring the UK to make concessions in broader trade areas beyond the tech partnership. For a long time, the US has hoped that the UK would agree to US standards for food and agricultural products. Though the UK previously agreed to allow 13,000 tons of US beef into its market duty-free annually, the two countries only stated in their trade agreement that they would continue to attempt to improve market access for more US agricultural products, without giving specific substantive commitments.

Currently, the global trade environment is facing new uncertainties. This week, Trump unexpectedly announced a new 10% global tariff. This policy change has stirred widespread concerns about global supply chains and cross-border investment prospects. However, insiders told the media that related ministers believe that this new tariff policy will not hinder the restart of the US-UK technology agreement. This indicates that the strategic cooperation needs of both countries in certain high-tech and energy security fields can, to some extent, resist the impact of broader trade friction. So far, neither the UK nor US governments have responded to immediate requests for comment on matters related to restarting the agreement.

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