Thread by @faisalislam

Overnight spoke to Chancellor in DC after he chaired G7 finance ministers, on supply chains, inflation, support to heavy industry, and avoiding a trade war with EU over NI protocol...

Said he was “confident there'll be a good amount of Christmas presents available”...

On supply chains Sunak said: British consumers “should be reassured” Govt is doing “absolutely everything we can”... and said events at LA Port showed pressures were global...
I asked him why PResident Biden had got CEOs into the WH to solve the problem, Govt had blamed business

Chancellor said “everyone” including the PM accepts that increasing wages without increasing productivity would be inflationary. He said the move to a high wage high skill economy advocated by the PM would “obviously take time”.

Re support for heavy industry/ gas prices: ““I don't think anyone could accuse us of being dismissive of concern for business”, and said he completely rejecting the suggestion from UK Steel that there was a “hostile environment” for industrial investment and levelling up...

I asked if he would accept heavy industry going under because of gas spike

Sunak pointed to pandemic help, but “in general I believe in a market economy -has served us v well in this country, not Government's job to come in & start managing the price of every individual product”

Asked Chancellor with all the other crises, surely the last thing the country needs is a trade war with EU over NI protocol: “look through [EU proposals] constructively and seriously. And I think the next steps should be for us to intensively work with our European partners”