Biden unveils new steps to strengthen global supply chains

ROME – President Joe Biden connected Sunday unveiled respective caller steps the U.S. is taking to fortify and streamline proviso chains arsenic helium convened satellite leaders astatine the Group of 20 acme to sermon the bottlenecks hampering the planetary system arsenic it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden is viewing the contented done a planetary lens, offering caller backing and processes to assistance ports successful Mexico, Central America and Asia arsenic 1 of his proposals. He noted that fewer citizens had ever tracked the travel of goods astatine ports until it became wide this twelvemonth that the infrastructure for moving goods astir the satellite is severely breached and successful request of repair.

“Supply chains are thing that astir of our citizens ne'er deliberation doubly astir until thing goes wrong,” Biden said. “It isn’t a occupation immoderate 1 of our nations tin lick done unilateral actions. Coordination is the cardinal crushed for this meeting."

Despite devoting a combined $15 trillion to combat the fallout from COVID-19, galore of the world's largest economies are slogging done wide shortages arsenic ships are waiting to dock, the prices of shipping containers climb, not capable trucks beryllium to haul goods from ports, and microorganism outbreaks halt mill production.

Ad

Supply concatenation issues person emerged arsenic a constituent of economical and governmental symptom for Biden, arsenic the delays person contributed to ostentation and perchance enactment a damper connected vacation shopping. Republican lawmakers person cited the menace of ostentation and proviso concatenation challenges successful critiquing Biden's economical leadership.

The president signed an enforcement bid to streamline entree to captious minerals and materials. The Defense Department would beryllium empowered to merchandise earthy materials from the National Defense Stockpile, allowing for a faster effect to shortfalls successful the U.S. concern base.

Separately, the State Department volition besides supply backing to assistance Mexico and Central America successful relieving proviso concatenation disruptions and bottlenecks. This follows the caller U.S.-ASEAN acme wherever caller backing was announced to simplify customs and clearance procedures.

The Biden medication volition besides enactment with different nations arsenic the president announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo volition big a acme adjacent twelvemonth connected gathering stronger proviso chains that tin withstand setbacks from a pandemic oregon the utmost upwind caused by clime change.

Ad

Separately Sunday, Biden held idiosyncratic talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore. He besides appeared with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, to sermon an statement resolving a commercialized quality the U.S. and EU.

The president volition besides clasp a ceremonial quality conference, though his home docket mightiness make arsenic overmuch attraction arsenic his overseas argumentation efforts. House Democrats were eyeing a Tuesday ballot connected Biden's $1.75 trillion spending program for families, wellness attraction and the environment, and connected his $1 trillion infrastructure program that has already cleared the Senate.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.