Gloomy economic forecast piles pressure on Reeves to get US trade deal

Independent UK - 22/04
IMF downgrade lays bare the impact of Trump’s tariffs, with experts warning there could be more pain to come unless chancellor can secure a US-UK trade deal, as Kate Devlin reports

The IMF has slashed the UK’s economic growth forecast in a fresh blow to Rachel Reeves, upping the ante as the chancellor prepares to hold talks in Washington this week.

Ms Reeves is expected to have her first face-to-face meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, as she pursues a new economic agreement the UK hopes can offset some of disastrous cost of Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

But the news of the brutal downgrade, more severe than the prediction for the rest of Europe, will increase the pressure on the chancellor to secure a deal – or face the spectre of tax rises or even more spending cuts later this year.

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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will travel to Washington, DC (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Ms Reeves had hoped to use this week’s visit to Washington to try to turn around Britain’s economic fortunes.

The government has been warning about the need to get growth into the eco...
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