The United States has paused work on the U.S.–UK “Tech Prosperity Deal”, the New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with the decision, after U.S. officials raised broader concerns about UK digital regulation and food safety rules.

The deal’s own memorandum of understanding, published by the White House and the UK government states the tech pact only “becomes operative” alongside “substantive progress” to formalize and implement the wider U.S.–UK Economic Prosperity Deal, creating a formal link between the technology track and the broader trade implementation timeline.

The memorandum also says it does not create legally binding obligations or commit either side to spend funds. It adds that either participant may discontinue the MOU by written notice, with discontinuation expected to begin on a mutually agreed date or 180 days after notice if no date is agreed.

White House science adviser Michael Kratsios said the administration hopes to resume work with the UK once it has made “substantial progress” implementing commitments under the broader U.S.-UK Economic Prosperity Deal. Kratsios’ statement points to the MOU’s operative-date condition, which the White House text ties to “substantive progress” on formalizing and implementing the Economic Prosperity Deal.

The Technology Prosperity Deal, set out in a memorandum of understanding (MOU), describes intended collaboration in “strategic science and technology disciplines,” including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, civil nuclear and fusion.

The MOU links the tech track to the wider trade package. The same document says the two sides intend to establish and convene a ministerial-level working group within six months of the MOU becoming operative, and to hold formal annual discussions to assess progress.

London had positioned the September package as both policy coordination and a private-capital signal. In a Sept. 16 release, the UK government said U.S. firms including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, OpenAI and CoreWeave had committed a combined £31 billion toward UK AI infrastructure and related technology alongside the Tech Prosperity Deal.

The policy areas cited in recent reporting map to existing UK regimes that affect U.S. companies operating in Britain. On digital taxation, UK government guidance says the Digital Services Tax applies from April 1, 2020 and introduces a 2% tax on revenues of search engines, social media services and online marketplaces that derive value from UK users.

On platform oversight, the UK government’s Online Safety Act explainer says illegal-content duties are now in effect and that, as of March 17, Ofcom can enforce the regime; Ofcom’s compliance timetable also lists March 17, 2025 as the date illegal content codes of practice come into force.

Food and agricultural issues are addressed in the May Economic Prosperity Deal’s published “general terms.” The document says the UK will remove a 20% tariff on U.S. beef within an existing quota and create a preferential duty-free quota of 13,000 metric tons for U.S. beef, and it “affirms” that imported food and agricultural goods must comply with the importing country’s sanitary and phytosanitary standards.

A UK Parliament committee report on the Economic Prosperity Deal noted the United States imposed new tariffs on UK goods in early 2025 and said the May “general terms” reduced, but did not eliminate, tariff barriers while leaving further work for subsequent negotiations.

Even as the tech track is paused, the wider agenda has continued to produce discrete outcomes. On Dec. 1, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services announced an “agreement in principle” on pharmaceutical pricing that includes U.S. commitments to exempt UK-origin pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical ingredients and medical technology from Section 232 tariffs.