CNBC Transcript: U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves Spoke with CNBC’s Sara Eisen at CNBC’s “Invest in America Forum” in Washington, D.C. Today, Wednesday, April 15

WHEN: Today, Wednesday, April 15, 2026

WHERE: CNBC's "Invest in America Forum"

Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at CNBC's "Invest in America Forum," which took place today, Wednesday, April 15 in Washington, D.C. See here for a link to video of the interview on CNBC.com: https://global-deals.online/video/2026/04/15/ukas-rachel-reeves-on-iran-war-anot-convinced-that-this-conflict-has-made-the-world-a-safer-placea.html%3C/a%3E.

Mandatory credit: CNBC's "Invest in America Forum"

SARA EISEN:  I talked about the biggest foreign investors in the U.S. Actually, I talked about how foreign investment was such a driver in the U.S. The biggest one, the top three, I don't know if everyone is aware, is Japan number one, U.K. number two, and Canada number three. I wanted to zero in here on the U.K. for our next guest. British companies, and we've seen this and I've covered this and I've interviewed these folks, Glaxo, BP, Sage, OakNorth. They've committed billions of dollars to investing in the U.S. right now. I mean, I don't have to tell you this. The economic relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., it's uniquely integrated in terms of the financial system, very deeply intertwined. They are one of our largest trading partners. We are one of their largest trading partners. And, with that setup, please welcome my next guest, the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

EISEN:  Thank you.

RACHEL REEVES:  Hi, Sara.

EISEN:  Good to see you.

REEVES:  Great to see you too.

EISEN:  Thank you very much for being here. I know you have thoughts on what we were just talking about. I saw your comments on the way over to Washington because you guys don't exactly feel the same way as the U.S. administration on the war and are feeling the economic impact. So what is your message to your U.S. counterparts when you're here in Washington today?

REEVES:  Well, the U.K. and 10 other countries have put out a statement this morning calling once again for de-escalation in this conflict. First and foremost in my mind are families and businesses in the U.K. who are having to deal with higher prices, higher borrowing costs today because of this conflict. And we feel very strongly, in our national interest, de-escalation is now the key priority, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, for vessels to be able to travel freely and safely through that strait, so we can get oil and gas back onto the global market and to start to bring down the interest rates that have risen over the last six weeks. That's what businesses and families are telling me back at home. And that's the message I'm coming here to Washington to give this week.

EISEN:  But, so, do you not buy the idea that that is a short-term problem in what has been a long-running, long-time-coming war to try to rid a terrorist regime of nuclear weapons?

REEVES:  Well, the question is not whether you like or dislike the Iranian regime, I strongly dislike the Iranian regime, but how to achieve the change that you want to achieve, whether it is getting the, ending the nuclear weapons program. But Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon today.

EISEN:  Not yet.

REEVES:  No, but they don't have a nuclear weapon today. And what do people think is the best way to stop that from happening? Is it through conflict or is it through diplomacy? And I believe it is through diplomacy. There was a diplomatic channel open, conversations. The discussions, formal discussions, were happening. I think it was a mistake to end those and to enter into conflict, because I'm not convinced that we are safer today than we were a few weeks ago.

EISEN:  I think that's part of the administration's strategy, which is to pressure them, and this blockade is just the latest move to do so, into a diplomatic solution that is workable.

REEVES:  But there were diplomatic negotiations happening before this. So, if the aim is to -- now to get diplomatic negotiations, well, they were already happening before the conflict started. And I think the point I would make is not being clear over the last six weeks or so what exactly the aim of this conflict is. Is it, as it was originally suggested, to get regime change? Was it to protect partners in that part of the world? Was it to stop the nuclear weapons program? Is it to start diplomatic talks, which were happening before? We have never been clear about what the goals of this conflict is, which is why the impacts in our economy, but also here in the U.S. economy and around the world, and particularly for our allies in the Gulf, like Saudi and Qatar and the UAE, are so immense. And we need to reopen that Strait of Hormuz to get down energy prices and to strengthen and stabilize. I believe that you can't have economic security without national security, and energy security is a key part of that, but to have energy security, you have got to have those key waterways open, which we don't at the moment.

EISEN:  But, ultimately, we will. I mean, that's the administration's point, is that this is temporary.

REEVES:  Well, we did at the beginning, Sara. We had the waterway open a few weeks ago. So, if now the objective is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, well, it was open at the beginning of this conflict. And that's what I mean about being clear about what the objectives of this conflict is. I would be very pleased to see the Strait of Hormuz opening. My prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, are hosting talks in Paris on Friday this week about how we can, when there is a cease-fire and proper cease-fire, how we can help that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. So we are willing to play our part, but the Strait of Hormuz was open. There was no tolling a few weeks ago. Yes, we want to get back there, but I'm not convinced that this conflict has made the world a safer place.

EISEN:  So, has this affected the U.S. and U.K.'s special relationship? Is it less special?

REEVES:  No, the U.S.-U.K. relationship is long-lasting and enduring. And our king is going to be here in Washington in just a couple of weeks' time. I think, and that is just one example, after President Trump's state visit, second unprecedented state visit to the U.K. last September, I think shows the deep ties in so, on some many levels between our two great countries. And friends are allowed to disagree on things. And that is natural, whether it is two friends that have known each other for many years or two countries that have had this special relationship for many decades. We don't always have to agree on everything. And, actually, when you are friends, you can speak your truth and deliver that clear message. And that's what we are doing in the U.K.

EISEN:  How is it being received here?

REEVES:  Well, look, we have a very good relationship. Our deputy prime minister, David Lammy, was here with J.D. Vance earlier this week. Our prime minister and the U.S. president speak regularly. And I will be meeting my opposite number, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with whom I have a very good relationship, later today. So that relationship bilaterally and also through all the different fora is incredibly important to us. And I think it's incredibly important to the U.S. And that's why we're really pleased that the king will be here for that state visit in a couple of weeks' time.

EISEN:  So you mentioned some of the fallout on British families. The IMF this week actually cut global growth forecast. But the biggest cut of the developed world in terms of the economic forecast came for the U.K., and the expected growth this year is only 0.8 percent. First of all, do you agree with that expectation? And how are you going to turn it around?

REEVES:  Well, last year, the U.K. was the fastest growing European country in the G7. And before this conflict, that was expected to be the case this year as well. We are a net importer of gas, which does mean that we are impacted by the conflict in the Middle East, which is why I do come with this message loud and clear, along with the 10 other countries that have signed this statement today, that we want to see a de-escalation of the crisis, because our growth will be higher and inflation will be lower if this conflict comes to an end. And that can only happen through de-escalation. So that's why it is so important to families and businesses in the U.K. But, look, we beat the forecasts for the U.K. economy last year. I'm confident that we will beat them again. But the best economic policy now, not just for the U.K., but globally, is de-escalation of this conflict and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

EISEN:  In the short term?

REEVES:  Well, I would argue that a lot of long-term damage has also been done to oil and gas facilities in the Middle East. And so, even if this conflict does come to an end tomorrow, there are longer-term impact of it, and until capacity and refining capability is back up at full strength. So, damage has been done for beyond the duration of this conflict, but the sooner it can de-escalate and that we get back to the diplomatic negotiations, which were happening before the conflict began, the better for the global economy, including here in the U.S., where, of course, inflation is also going to be higher and oil and gas prices, including for consumers and businesses in the U.S., is going to be higher. And that's the last thing the global economy needs.

EISEN:  Yes, I mean, no, people feel it. How big of an inflation problem do you think the U.K. is facing at this point?

REEVES:  Well, the forecasts were for inflation to fall back to the 2 percent target in the second or third quarter of this year. Inflation in the U.K. is at 3 percent, but it was on a downward path. That -- some of that disinflationary momentum continues. So, energy bills for domestic heating and electricity actually fell this month, the beginning of this month, the 1st of April. Energy bills for households fell by an average of 117 pounds. That will show up in the inflation numbers that will be published next month, May's data for April. And also we have frozen rail fares, bus fares, NHS prescription charges, all bearing down on inflation. Of course, what is happening in the Middle East will have some upward pressure on inflation. But, in 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, inflation went up to more than 11 percent. The expectations now and the central forecast is that inflation will go up to between, to around 3.5 percent, so very, very different from the experience a few years ago.

EISEN:  So, you're here. And I have seen you. I saw you in Riyadh. I have seen you in Washington, all sorts of places, and making the pitch for investment in the U.K. And I know there's a lot of investment in the U.S. from the U.K. as well. But when you talk to business leaders, and I know you're meeting with a number of them today as well, what is that pitch? And what is the biggest pushback you get?

REEVES:  Actually, there's never been a better time to invest in the U.K. There's so many exciting things happening. I met already this morning with the chief executive of Arm, a business headquartered in Cambridge in the U.K., an American chief executive and owned by a Japanese firm, but developing chips for data centers—

EISEN:  Yes. He's here.

REEVES:  With the R&D happening here in the U.K. And one of the big choices we're making as a government is to really back A.I. and make Britain the best place to start, scale and to stay as an entrepreneur and as a new business. And the reason why we're confident about that is that we have got some of the best universities in the world. Four of the best universities, four of the top 10 universities in the world are in the U.K. We have some of the greatest talent, some of the best entrepreneurs and ideas. And because of the reforms we're making to our capital markets, both pensions investment and retail investment, we are opening up opportunities to raise finance in the U.K. Our planning reforms makes it easier to build stuff in the U.K., including energy infrastructure, but also data centers and other crucial infrastructure for the tech sector. And we are taking action to bring down energy costs, especially in electricity, for high-intensive users of energy in the U.K. So some of the constraints around land, capital and energy that did exist in the U.K., we are changing those to encourage that investment. And also the U.K. government is the biggest buyer of services in the U.K. economy. And we have made a commitment to buy British, particularly in areas of defense and in A.I., which gives a huge opportunity, particularly in areas like quantum compute, that, if you start and scale and stay in Britain, you can win some of those contracts and then export and grow around the world.

EISEN:  So, the two things I hear when it comes to investing, in terms of the pushback, is the taxes, tax system, I think business and especially wealthy investors are not such a fan, and regulation. Are you addressing those?

REEVES:  Yes, on regulation, we have got a target to reduce the administrative cost of regulation by 25 percent during the course of this Parliament. We have also already taken around 1.5 billion pounds of regulatory costs out of the system. And it's a particular priority of my prime minister, Keir Starmer. We're particularly doing that in the area of financial services and fintech. And, of course, Revolut got that banking license in the U.K. just a few weeks ago, which was a huge step forward. And we have given all of our regulators a mandate to regulate not just for risk, but also for growth. And that's really changing the mind-set of our regulators, including, for example, the Competition and Markets Authority. On the corporation tax, we have the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G7. We have got a competitive tax system. And particularly for entrepreneurs and start-ups, in the budget last year, we now made a number of changes to be able to offer tax preferential shares for employees in some of those tech start-up businesses, but also changing some of the tax incentives to encourage firms to list in London, where you won't pay stamp duty on shares for the first three years, and also some of the changes around investment incentives for investing in start-up businesses as well. So for businesses that are looking at a place to start and grow their business, I think the U.K. is an increasingly attractive place to be because of some of the changes we have made as a government.

EISEN:  I read that you are a chess master.

REEVES:  No, I wouldn't go that far, but I was quite good when I was younger.

EISEN:  A chess champion of under 14 years old? Is that true?

REEVES:  Yes. Yes. It was quite a few years ago.

EISEN:  Is that a useful skill? Is that a useful skill in being the chancellor of the exchequer today?

REEVES:  I think it encourages you to look ahead and try and look around corners and to think about strategy, not just tactics. But I still play a little bit with my own children. I have played with my son the other weekend at home. Quite a few of the finance ministers are decent chess players, I think particularly the Polish finance minister. So he—

EISEN:  Oh, really? So is there something about a correlation between chess players and finance ministers?

REEVES:  Well, I think most chess players are pretty good at maths, so—

EISEN:  So, yes, math and strategy.

REEVES:  Yes.

EISEN:  Rachel Reeves, thank you very much for taking the time today. I know you have a lot of meetings.

EISEN:  Really appreciate it.

REEVES:  Really nice to see you again.

EISEN:  Thank you. Thank you for doing it. Nice to see you.