US and UK Unveil Nuclear Agreement Ahead of Trump Visit
(Bloomberg) -- The US and Britain will sign an agreement to make it quicker for companies in both countries to build nuclear power stations when President Donald Trump visits this week, according to the UK government.
The nuclear partnership is one of several economic deals that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration intends to announce in an effort to keep Trump’s visit from descending into diplomatic and political difficulty. The President arrives in Britain on Tuesday, takes in a day of pageantry with King Charles III on Wednesday and meets Starmer on Thursday.
Both countries will use each other’s safety assessments of reactor designs to fast-track their own checks under the new agreement. That should speed up the licensing time for nuclear projects to two years from three or four years, the UK government said in a press release Sunday.
“Together with the US, we’re building a golden age of nuclear that puts both countries at the forefront of global innovation and investment,” Starmer said in a statement released by his office.
“Meeting this demand will require strong partnerships with our allies around the world and robust collaboration with private sector innovators,” US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said.
Starmer is counting on a series of commercial announcements this week to provide an economic boost from Trump’s visit and distract from his domestic political woes.
They include plans by X-Energy and Centrica to build 12 advanced modular reactors in Hartlepool, northeast England, and by Holtec and EDF to develop data centers powered by small modular reactors in Nottinghamshire. The UK government has valued the deals at more than £50 billion ($68 billion).
Trump arrives as Starmer faces questions about his political future following the departures of two senior members of his government in less than a week.
After Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner lost her job over a tax scandal, Starmer fired his ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, last week following a Bloomberg News investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. The tumult has left the premier under intense pressure from lawmakers in the governing Labour Party who are questioning his political acumen.
The prospect of a joint news briefing in which Trump and Starmer are repeatedly asked about Epstein is giving UK government officials nightmares, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
Still, Trump and Starmer are expected to announce a new partnership between their tech industries backed by Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, a deal that was orchestrated by Mandelson before his ouster. Britain is also hoping for better terms on US tariffs on steel and whisky.
The leaders will host a reception and fireside chat with key British and American investors on Thursday at the prime minister’s countryside residence at Chequers, including CEOs from GSK, Microsoft and Rolls Royce.
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