Joe Biden has lashed out at Liz Truss’s favoured approach to the economy just hours before their first summit.
The Tory leader will meet the US President Joe Biden tomorrow on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York - their first talks since she became Prime Minister.
But the two could be set for a clash over tax policy ahead of her mini-Budget on Friday - which has been branded ‘The Growth Plan’.
It is expected to axe plans to raise corporation tax, reverse the hike in national insurance and end a cap on bankers’ bonuses.
Ahead of their meeting, Mr Biden tweeted: “I am sick and tired of trickle-down economics. It has never worked.
“We're building an economy from the bottom up and middle out.”
The tweet was sent moments after Liz Truss told British journalists she was unafraid to be “unpopular”, and defended cutting taxes for the wealthy.
The PM, who believes tax cuts will spark economic growth, told the BBC told Sky News: "What I don’t accept is the idea that tax cuts on business don’t help people in general.
"Of course they help people in general, because we want businesses to be more productive, we want more investment, so that ultimately means jobs, growth and investment right across our country."
Trickle-down economics is a phrase - often used by critics - that means giving tax cuts to higher earners or businesses in the belief the benefits will be felt throughout society.
While the message was presumably intended for a domestic US audience, it underlines the economic and political divide across the Atlantic.
Labour MP Stella Creasy tweeted: “To be a fly on the wall when Liz Truss reads this ….”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford tweeted: “President Biden knows as we know that trickle down economics do not work.
“Slashing taxes will do little to help those dealing with the cost of living crisis. It is the wrong response at the wrong time. Let us support those that need help and prioritise driving down inflation.”
Labour MP Chi Onwurah tweeted: “That first meeting between our new Chancellor & President Biden's economics team is going to be fun!”
Asked on the 102nd floor observatory of the Empire State Building in New York, where she is attending the United Nations General Assembly, if she was prepared to be unpopular, Liz Truss told Sky News: “Yes, yes I am.
“What is important to me is we grow the British economy because that’s what will ultimately deliver higher wages, more investment in towns and cities across the country - that’s what will ultimately deliver more money to people’s pockets.
“In order to get that economic growth, Britain has to be competitive.
“If we put up taxes, if we have arbitrary taxes on energy companies, if we have high corporation tax we’re not going to get that investment and growth.”
Downing Street has said it would be "ludicrous" to suggest US President Joe Biden's criticism of trickle-down economics was directed at Liz Truss.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "Any suggestion that it's in some way a direct criticism of UK policy would be ludicrous.
"No two countries' economies are structured in the same way, each have unique challenges."
