British finance minister Rachel Reeves will tell her global counterparts travelling to Washington this week that her approach to dealing with a more uncertain world – which she has dubbed “securonomics” – is the right one, the government said.
Reeves, in the United States for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) summit, will again pitch Britain as a “rare safe haven for investors” that offers stability amid soaring energy prices.
The deadline passed on Monday for the start of a U.S. military blockade of ships leaving Iran’s ports, and Tehran threatened to strike ports of its Gulf neighbours after weekend talks on ending the war broke down.
Britain’s reliance on imported gas and stubbornly higher inflation have driven a sharper government bond selloff than peers since February, limiting Reeves’ room for manoeuvre as she tries to stabilise the public finances without deepening the squeeze on households and businesses.
Reeves will “make clear that she will do all in her power to keep costs down for the British public”, while urging her peers not to repeat “unaffordable” policy measures of the past, the finance ministry said in a statement.
“Families and businesses across Britain are bearing the cost of instability they did not cause. These are not costs I wanted, but they are costs we will have to respond to,” Reeves said.
“I will go to America with a clear message: global leaders must take coordinated economic action and supercharge the path to energy security to protect ourselves in the future.”
Reeves is also due to meet J.P. Morgan (JPM.N), opens new tab Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and the bosses of IBM (IBM.N), opens new tab and ARM (O9Ty.F), opens new tab while in Washington.
She said in an article published on Sunday that Britain will set out the next steps in its efforts to boost its economic competitiveness, as well as the principles for supporting businesses affected by the Iran war fallout, later this week.
The IMF is due to publish its next World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, featuring updated forecasts of economic growth and inflation around the globe.
