President Joe Biden met with CEOs of major US retailers and shipping industries on Tuesday to discuss supply chain bottlenecks. Recent supply chain issues triggered by record-breaking consumer demand have exacerbated congestion at several US ports, with the Biden administration shouldering much of the responsibility for resolving the problem.
Biden met with the CEOs of Walmart, UPS, FedEx, and Target on Tuesday to discuss steps that the Administration and private sector can take to strengthen our supply chains further and build on steps we've already taken to speed up deliveries and lower prices, according to a White House official.
Biden administration outline supply chain crisis solution
In the aftermath of the recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure package, the Biden administration outlined a series of initiatives to solve the supply chain issue. Although the budget measure has yet to be approved, a senior administration source told CNN that "work is going on right now to really get these projects teed up and out the door."
Walmart, Target, UPS, and FedEx were among the companies that pledged last month to expand their operations in order to move goods more quickly as part of the White House's broader effort to address global supply chain problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic and threatening the holiday shopping season.
In October, Biden hosted a meeting with executives from the corporations and other stakeholders at the White House to review the supply chain. In order to transfer cargo more swiftly, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach switched to 24-hour daily operations.
The Biden administration announced a policy change early Tuesday that will allow port authorities to channel cost savings from current federally sponsored projects to solve delays. Officials with the Georgia Port Authority claimed the adjustment would allow them to invest $8 million in leftover money on a new pop-up container project.
Per The Hill, the Transportation Department also aims to award $240 million in Infrastructure Development Grant funds in the next 45 days and launch a competition for the first round of port infrastructure grant financing under the infrastructure bill in the next 90 days.
Who's to blame for the supply chain crisis?
As the COVID-19 pandemic waned, Americans began to notice that shop shelves were frequently bare. The supply chain difficulties aren't anticipated to go away anytime soon, and they're just going to become worse as the holiday season approaches. The shelves are bare due to images of hundreds of filled container ships off the California coast unable to enter the overloaded ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle more than 40% of all U.S. imports.
The situation is critical. This summer, buyers were encouraged to start their Christmas shopping early because shops won't have much to offer when the ports grow even more crowded. Toys and clothes are already in limited supply, and auto components that used to arrive in a day or two now take months to come, making it nearly difficult for auto repair shops to keep their clients' vehicles on the road.
When everyone blames each other for the supply chain failure, it's tough to figure out who is to blame. President Joe Biden attributes the hesitation of workers to step out in a world where a virus may be hiding to habits acquired during the outbreak. In a nod to President Jimmy Carter's advice to wear a sweater during the oil crisis, the White House press secretary believes customers are to blame for seeking items they don't truly need, as per The Washington Times.
Related Article: Joe Biden Sends CIA Director to Russia To Warn Vladimir Putin About Building Troops on Ukraine Border
