US President Joe Biden calls Liz Truss’ original UK economic plan a ‘mistake’
- Truss’ initial plans sparked market turmoil as critics called for a reversal on the largest proposed set of unfunded UK tax cuts in half a century
- In an attempt to appease markets, Truss fired Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday as her chancellor of the exchequer and scrapped parts of their controversial plan
US President Joe Biden says he was not the only one who thought British Prime Minister Liz Truss’ original economic plan, which has led to a steep dive in the value of the pound, was a mistake.
“It’s predictable. I mean, I wasn’t the only one that thought it was a mistake,” Biden told reporters Saturday during a visit to Portland, Oregon, when asked about Truss reversing course.
The president’s comments came while he was campaigning for Tina Kotek, who is running for Governor or Oregon.
“I think that the idea of cutting taxes on the super wealthy at a time when – anyway, I just think – I disagreed with the policy,” the president added. “But that’s up to Great Britain to make that judgment, not me.”
More woes for UK PM as trade deal with India stalls over visa concerns
The White House has refrained from commenting on Truss’ problems and when asked about the strength of the US dollar, Biden said, “I’m not concerned about the strength of the dollar. I’m concerned about the rest of the world.”
Earlier on Saturday Britain’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt said some taxes would go up and tough spending decisions were needed, saying Prime Minister Liz Truss had made mistakes as she battles to keep her job just over a month into her term.
In an attempt to appease financial markets that have been in turmoil for three weeks, Truss fired Kwasi Kwarteng as her chancellor of the exchequer on Friday and scrapped parts of their controversial economic package
The initial plans sparked market turmoil and calls for Truss to reverse course after Kwarteng on September 23 announced the biggest set of unfunded UK tax cuts in half a century.
Truss is keeping other tax cuts in place, leaving open the possibility of further market backlash on Monday.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Associated Press
