LONDON, U.K.: The United States and Britain are preparing to unveil a package of tech and energy deals during U.S. President Donald Trump's second state visit to the UK this year, with London hoping the talks will also deliver long-promised lower tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will arrive in Britain on Wednesday for a pageantry-filled welcome, complete with a carriage procession, state banquet, military flypast, and gun salute. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government is counting on the symbolism of the royal treatment to reinforce what it calls the world's "strongest relationship" while pursuing closer defence, energy, and economic ties with Washington.

Starmer will host Trump at his Chequers country residence on September 18. The leaders are expected to sign what British officials have described as "a world-leading tech partnership" alongside multi-billion-dollar agreements to develop small nuclear projects. Officials said these facilities could help supply power to fast-growing artificial intelligence data centres.

Despite sharp ideological differences, the Labour leader and the Republican president have worked to establish a pragmatic partnership. Starmer was the first foreign leader to clinch a deal with Trump on reducing global tariffs, with car duties already settled in June. The remaining agreement covering steel and aluminium is still pending.

"When it comes to steel, we will make sure that we have an announcement as soon as possible," UK business minister Peter Kyle told the BBC.

Ahead of the visit, Britain unveiled more than 1.25 billion pounds (US$1.69 billion) in new U.S. investment pledges from companies including PayPal and Bank of America. Sources said Nvidia, OpenAI, and cloud provider CoreWeave are also expected to announce investments linked to the technology partnership.

The rollout comes at a politically sensitive moment for Starmer, who last week dismissed his U.S. ambassador, Peter Mandelson, after revelations about the envoy's ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. The firing created a diplomatic headache just days before the high-profile visit.

This will be Trump's second stop in Britain in less than two months, following a July visit to his golf resorts in Scotland. The White House and Downing Street said the leaders will also announce initiatives to deepen cultural ties, from expanding basketball programs in Britain to forging new partnerships between museums and heritage institutions.