Rachel Reeves ‘overexposed’ UK to Trump tariff turmoil as Chancellor slammed over tax decisions
Shadow Treasury Minister Gareth Davies has accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of “overexposing” the UK to global trade turmoil through her tax policies.
Speaking to GB News, Davies criticised the Chancellor’s domestic choices which he claims have left Britain vulnerable to international economic pressures.
“When you run a G7 economy, there are global factors all the time. What you don’t do is overexpose your economy to those global factors,” Davies said.
He pointed to what he described as a “£40billion tax raid” implemented by the Chancellor.
Gareth Davies has accused Rachel Reeves of ‘overexposing’ the UK to Donald Trump’s tariffs
PA / GB News
Rachel Reeves has claimed that Donald Trump is ‘keen to do a deal’ with BritainPA
However, Davies insisted that only a comprehensive free trade agreement would secure Britain’s economic future.
“That free trade agreement is what will ultimately secure our future and help provide that security for jobs across the country,” he added.
Davies criticised Labour for what he called a “delayed process” in pursuing a US trade deal: “Labour could have acted much quicker,” he told GB News.
Davies suggested Conservative leadership would have shown greater urgency on the issue: “Kemi would have acted much quicker,” he claimed.
Davies told GB News that Kemi would have acted ‘much quicker’ in securing a deal with the US
GB News
He warned that British families and jobs could be at risk due to these delays.
“We’re now in a situation where this is a delayed free trade agreement, and it’s British families and jobs that could be at risk as a result of that”, he said.
Despite his criticism, Davies acknowledged Chancellor Reeves’ current visit to Washington as “positive”.
“We urge her to make progress with Scott Bessent the Treasury Secretary and Keir Starmer with the President of the United States,” he added.
