President Joe Biden has said he could repeal some of the tariffs imposed on imports from China to help control rising U.S. consumer prices. However this move is also being seen as Biden’s softer approach towards unfriendly, where he has been apparently continuously failing to retaliate strong enough.
The White House is reviewing sanctions imposed under former President Donald Trump – which has increased prices on everything from nappies to clothing and furniture – and may choose to remove them altogether, Biden told a nation in Washington on Tuesday.
“We are looking at what could have a positive impact,” Biden said, adding that price reductions are currently under discussion.
Trump imposed a series of fines on Chinese goods in a long-running tit-for-tat war with Beijing in an effort to consolidate US-made goods.
Trump’s tax evasion rate on Chinese products will cool inflation is a debate among economists, but many say lowering or completely eliminating prices is among the few options available to the White House that are willing to pull all available resources to reduce costs.
The president also pointed out that a combination of Covid-19 treaties at home and abroad and the invasion of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine have caused US prices to jump at its own pace since the early 1980s.
“I want every American to know that I take the inflation seriously,” Biden said. “The primary cause of inflation is a one-hundred-year epidemic. Not only did it shut down our global economy, it also shattered the chains and had to end. ”
“And this year we have a second reason: Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine,” he added, referring to the dramatic rise in oil prices as a result of the Moscow attacks in early 2022.
Although the crude futures of West Texas are higher than the $ 130 barrel seen in March, oil delivery contracts in June last appeared to be trading at an estimated $ 100, about $ 30 more than at the start of the year.
The president noted that the war also raised the prices of contracts for essential commodities such as wheat and maize, which increased by 40% and 30%, respectively, by 2022. Russia and Ukraine together provide more than a quarter of the world. wheat.
Economists say the combination of the epidemic – particularly China’s latest, and strongest, efforts to stem the rising tide there – and the Ukrainian war are both blamed for 8.5% inflation in March last year, the highest reading since 1981. Street looks forward to reading the next Department of Labor report on April inflation, scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
Economists interviewed by Dow Jones expect the report to show that inflation is up 8.1% in the 12 months ending April.
Biden’s remarks on the eve of his release are a recent attempt by officials to reassure the American public that the White House is looking at all available options to eliminate rising prices. A majority of voters have stated that Americans now believe that inflation is a major problem facing the US and the threat of economic stagnation due to Covid’s economic collapse.
While other economic measures have undergone dramatic changes – the US employment rate is firmly at 3.6% last month – high gas and groceries continue to cut payments and eradicate anger across the country.
Biden in recent weeks has sought to alleviate that frustration with ordinary speech.
Last week, he highlighted a significant reduction in shortfall this fiscal year as a significant exit from what he described as the widespread spending of his Republican counterpart and a move towards financial commitments and lower prices.
The Republicans say the rise in inflation, in large part, is due to Democrats’ economic policies, which include billions of Covid aid in the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill Biden signed in 2021.
The GOP also points out that state spending could be higher, and the expected shortfall would be higher, if Biden and his fellow Democrats were able to pass a climate, housing and labor law law formerly known as the Build Back Better plan.
That attack is creating a political crisis for Democrats as they face a rising battle to control Congress in a crucial mid-November election. The Senate is 50-50 divided between Democrats and Republicans, while the House is 221-209 divided in favor of Democrats.
Biden in his recent remarks confronted Republican barbs for announcing management efforts to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and raise taxes on the wealthy Americans.
“What is the Congressional Republican plan? They do not want to solve the problem of inflation by reducing your costs. They want to solve it by raising taxes and reducing your income, ”Biden said on Tuesday. “Their plan will actually make working families poorer.”