The US suspends the implementation of a technology agreement with the UK.

The US government has decided to temporarily halt the implementation of a technology cooperation agreement with the United Kingdom, signed during President Donald Trump's state visit to London from September 17-19, amid growing frustration within the White House over the slow progress of bilateral trade negotiations.

The US-UK Technology Prosperity Agreement, announced in September 2025, aims to foster cooperation between the two countries in key areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and nuclear energy.

British officials confirmed on December 15 that the US had temporarily suspended the implementation of the agreement last week. A source indicated that the Trump administration is pressuring the British government to make further concessions on a number of trade issues outside the scope of technology cooperation.

Trade negotiations between the US and the UK have resumed since the two sides reached an agreement in May 2025 to mitigate the impact of the high tariffs that Trump imposed on British goods.

However, according to people familiar with the negotiations, US officials are increasingly dissatisfied with Britain's lack of goodwill in addressing "non-tariff barriers," including regulations and standards applied to food and industrial goods.

In a preliminary agreement announced in May 2025, the UK agreed to allow duty-free imports of 13,000 tonnes of US beef annually. However, the document also stated that the two sides would continue to cooperate to improve market access for many other US agricultural products.

The U.S. has long wanted Britain to recognize U.S. standards for food and agricultural products, but the current agreement does not offer any specific commitments on this matter.

President Trump had previously criticized the digital services taxes that some of America's trading partners, including the UK, imposed on large American technology companies. However, a British official rejected the notion that digital services taxes were a major obstacle in negotiations with the US.

British Trade Secretary Peter Kyle and Science Secretary Liz Kendall traveled to the US last week to meet with technology business leaders. This visit was planned before the Trump administration announced a temporary suspension of the technology cooperation agreement.

Another British official acknowledged that the US side were “very tough negotiators,” but expressed confidence that the two sides could soon get the agreement back on track.

In an official statement, a UK government spokesperson affirmed that “the special relationship between the UK and the US remains very strong,” and stressed the UK government’s commitment to ensuring that the technology prosperity deal will deliver tangible opportunities for workers in both countries.

Earlier this month, the UK also announced it would increase spending by the National Health Service (NHS) on medicines, after the US agreed to exempt pharmaceutical products exported from the UK from tariffs.

A White House official on December 15 described the pharmaceutical agreement between the two countries as "historic," and said the U.S. and the UK would "continue to work together to move toward the full implementation" of the bilateral trade agreement.

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