2 weeks Ago By Athena Stavrou
Rachel Reeves is preparing for crucial talks with her US counterpart as she pushes to secure a trade deal amid economic uncertainty . The chancellor will have her first face-to-face meeting with US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent as she spends three days in Washington DC for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s spring meetings. Her trip comes after the IMF slashed the UK’s economic growth forecast, warning that the fallout from Donald Trump ’s trade war will hit Britain harder than the rest of Europe.
The downgrade threatens to wipe out the fiscal headroom she had clawed back with benefits cuts in her spring statement, meaning she will likely have to make further cuts or hike taxes when she delivers her second budget this autumn. Mr Trump implemented 10 per cent levies on all UK goods as he announced sweeping tariffs on imports from the rest of the world earlier this month. While ministers have said talks on a deal remain ongoing, figures in the Trump administration have cast doubt on their prospect of success.
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