The Biden administration is considering options for supply chain issues, Buttigieg said on Sunday’s talk show
U.S. Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that the Biden administration is working to address supply chain disruptions that could drain some of the joy of shopping during the holiday season and create problems for consumers for next year.
Buttigieg, who spoke on Sunday’s talk shows, said officials were considering all options to mitigate the supply chain, including potentially raising tariffs on goods from China and deploying National Guard members to drive trucks.
“Of course, many of the challenges we’ve experienced this year will continue into next year,” Buttigieg told CNN’s State of the Union. “But there are both short-term and long-term steps that we can take to do something about it.”
Experts have warned of supply chain disruptions during the holiday season since at least this summer, citing Covid-19-related shutdowns at production facilities, labor shortages and severe weather affecting key cargo ports.
Moody’s Analytics said last week that supply chain problems could lead to higher production costs and consumer prices, while hampering economic recovery from the pandemic.
For Long Islanders, the clogged supply chain has created a shortage of items such as sneakers, containers, restaurant ingredients and computer chips for cars. And they pay higher prices for these items while often waiting longer to receive them.
Consumer prices rose 3.8% last month, compared to September 2020, in the region that includes Long Island, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Buttigieg blamed supply chain problems in part on “off the chart” demand. He said US ports brought in a record amount of goods this year “and our supply chains cannot keep up.”
“Look, part of what’s happening is not just the supply side. It’s the demand side,” Buttigieg told CNN. “Retail is through the roof.”
The high demand is evident in Long Island’s sales tax revenue, which has exceeded expectations in both Nassau and Suffolk counties this year, according to budget documents. Suffolk is expected to collect a surplus of sales taxes of between $ 361 and $ 407 million, county budget analysts said last week.
Buttigieg said one way to reduce the bottleneck on the supply chain would be to pass a $ 1.9 trillion federal infrastructure bill, which includes $ 17 billion for ports. The adoption of this bill has been tied as Democrats weigh a larger social safety net bill.
The port’s bottlenecks can also be reduced by making them work around the clock, he said. Biden announced this week an agreement to have ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, run on this schedule. Buttigieg said these ports account for 40% of container traffic.
Other parts of the supply chain are clogged due to lack of truck drivers to supply supplies and goods. Buttigieg said he is working with state motor vehicle departments to speed up the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses.
Even with potential headaches when shopping this year, Americans are facing a “much better holiday season,” as more Americans are vaccinated, Buttigieg said.
“What I do know is that the holidays are going to be much better this year than last year, because a year ago millions of Americans slipped into poverty who now have jobs. And a year ago, many of us were gathering with their loved ones over a screen. “
Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.
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