After a day of royal pageantry, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, the final day of his state visit to the United Kingdom. Talks at Chequers, the prime minister’s rural retreat, are expected to focus on tech investment, steel tariffs and other key policy issues.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were hosted on Wednesday by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle with gold-trimmed carriages, scarlet-clad soldiers, artillery salutes and a state banquet in Trump’s honour. British officials described it as an “unprecedented” second state visit for the U.S. leader.
The meeting at Chequers will feature ceremonial honours including a bagpiper guard and items from the Winston Churchill archive. A lunch of Dover sole and key lime pie, followed by a Red Devils army parachute display, is planned.
Britain announced that U.S. firms have pledged £150 billion ($204 billion) in investment, including £90 billion from Blackstone. American companies, including Microsoft, are investing £31 billion in the U.K.’s AI sector, while U.K. pharmaceutical giant GSK plans to invest nearly $30 billion in the U.S.
Starmer and Trump will sign a “tech prosperity deal” expected to create thousands of jobs and drive investment in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and nuclear energy. It includes a U.K. arm of Stargate, a Trump-backed AI infrastructure project.
However, talks on eliminating U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs remain unresolved, drawing concern from British industry. Starmer is also facing political pressure at home after recent resignations within his government.
The leaders are expected to hold a press conference where difficult questions may arise, including over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Ukraine and the Middle East. Trump has expressed frustration over Ukraine’s war with Russia, while Starmer has pledged stronger support for Kyiv and plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the UN later this month — a position that diverges sharply from Trump’s.
Despite the challenges, British officials hope the visit will reaffirm the “special relationship” between the two countries.
