The UK should pursue technology sovereignty through openness, trusted partnerships, and targeted domestic investment, according to a new report published by BritishAmerican Business (BAB).

Strength in Partnership: UK Tech Sovereignty and the Case for a Deeper Transatlantic Digital Alliance, argues that the presence of US technology firms across the UK economy is a strategic asset rather than a vulnerability, warning that seeking total independence across every layer of the technology stack would be neither financially realistic or strategically desirable given the global nature of the AI supply chain.

Instead, the report argues that technology sovereignty should be understood as the ability to make deliberate choices about the systems on which the UK depends. The report calls on the UK government to set out clear definitions of sovereignty by identifying the narrow set of systems that require the highest assurance and by treating openness to trusted providers as the default elsewhere.

It also calls on both governments to replace arrangements that rest on political goodwill with binding commitments on cooperation and data flows, to work towards regulatory alignment that supports transatlantic investment and joint leadership in shaping international AI standards.

The report, which draws on input from leading US and UK technology companies, prioritises three areas:

• Binding Commitments: Elevate key elements of the Technology Prosperity Deal into a legally binding bilateral agreement, covering compute access, non-interruption clauses for critical services, and the cross-border data flows currently absent from the framework, including a strengthened UK-US Data Bridge.
• Interoperability and International Standards: Make interoperability, data portability and audit rights standard conditions in public-sector procurement, and work with the US to help shape the international standards and governance frameworks that will govern AI globally.
• Domestic Enablers: Accelerate progress on energy supply, planning and grid connections, and concentrate investment in the layers of the AI stack where the UK holds genuine comparative advantage.

BritishAmerican Business CEO Duncan Edwards said:

“The debate about technology sovereignty is too often framed as a choice between dependence and independence. In practice, sovereignty should be about having genuine choices: being clear about which systems require the highest assurance, and retaining the ability to shape, audit and govern the technology a country relies on.

“The US is the UK’s closest ally and its largest foreign investor. US technology companies have committed billions to UK infrastructure, skills and research, and that investment is a foundation to build on.

“But partnership needs firmer foundations. The suspension of the Technology Prosperity Deal within three months of signature showed how quickly arrangements resting on political goodwill can unravel. Binding commitments would give businesses on both sides of the Atlantic the confidence to keep investing.”

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