Biden says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ‘will continue to wreak havoc’ on global economy
Eusebio R. Sheffield
4 min read
“Look, we’ve made a lot of progress and we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us, but we know families are still struggling with higher prices,” he said in an address to The Authority. New Hampshire port.
Biden directly blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “big reason for inflation.”
“The invasion of Ukraine has driven up gasoline and food prices around the world. The two main breadbaskets in the world are Ukraine and Russia. … What we have seen in the most recent inflation data last month was around 70% of the increase in inflation was a consequence of Putin’s price hike, due to the impact on gas prices and energy,” he said.
As prices, including on goods like energy and food, rose ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the administration began blaming Putin for the economic troubles of recent weeks. The term “Putin’s price hike” has become a phrase frequently used by the president and his aides when discussing bad economic news.
Biden said he was doing everything he could to drive down prices, pointing to the release of gas from strategic oil reserves and his coordination with U.S. allies and partners.
“The fact is that we are in a situation where the war in Ukraine is going to continue to wreak havoc on the world economy. It will wreak havoc on energy. It will wreak havoc on food. .. “A huge number of people are hurting. It makes a big difference, it makes a big difference, the cost of a dozen eggs, the cost of a gallon of gas, that’s significant,” Biden said. .
He continued, “We’re going to build this economy from the bottom up and from the middle.”
Biden’s trip to Portsmouth was meant to show how spending on the nation’s port infrastructure is aimed at strengthening supply chains and lowering costs for American families, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday. , to reporters during a briefing at the White House.
Biden was due to meet with state Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, Senator Maggie Hassan, Rep. Chris Pappas, Rep. Ann Kuster, Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and other state officials. ‘state and local, according to PSAKI.
“US ports are the backbone of the US economy, but outdated infrastructure and the Covid-19 pandemic have strained their capacity and jeopardized global supply chains, causing delays and passed the costs directly on to consumers,” Psaki told reporters.
The White House says the port of Portsmouth handles around 3.5 million tonnes and nearly $2 billion in cargo annually. The US Army Corps of Engineers completed an $18.2 million project earlier this month to widen the port’s turning basin and is investing an additional $1.7 million in channel maintenance dredging and the navigation basin, according to the White House.
Those funds were allocated from the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which is one of Biden’s biggest legislative wins since taking office. The act invests $17 billion in port infrastructure. The president has made several trips across the country to tout bipartisan success and highlight the infrastructure investments made possible by law.
Cargo passing through Portsmouth Harbor includes material to make drywall, road de-icing salt, heating oil and undersea fiber optic cables, according to the White House. It is also a staging and transportation location for several wind power projects and for nuclear power plant components manufactured near Westinghouse Electric.
During his speech, Biden cited investments for dredging in the port as an important example of the bill in action. The port supports 2,300 jobs, he noted, and has “even more potential than that.” A recent investment by the Army Corps of Engineers allows the harbor to accommodate larger boats.
“This port is open for business and will be for a long time,” he said.
This story was updated with additional developments on Tuesday.
