The US recognizes that its supply problems will last until next year

The Secretary of Transportation of USA, Pete Buttigieg, recognized this Sunday that the problems in the supply chain of the country will last until next year, and urged to pass the infrastructure bill to minimize the impact of these disturbances.

“Certainly, many of the challenges we have been experiencing this year will continue into the next. But there are both short-term and long-term steps we can take to do something about it, ”Buttigieg said during an interview with CNN.

Since restrictions on mobility and economic activity began to be relaxed due to the pandemic of COVID-19 In much of the world, demand for goods and services has experienced sudden growth that manufacturers and shippers have been unable to respond to, creating a bottleneck.

One of the best examples of this situation are the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the United States, the two largest in the country and which are experiencing a situation of collapse, with long lines of huge freighters anchoring in front of the docks waiting. to be able to dock and unload your goods, a task that can take up to twelve days.

Buttigieg stressed that part of what is happening has to do not only with supplies, but with demand, which is “through the roof.”

“This is one more example of why we have to pass the infrastructure law. That president’s plan has $ 17 billion for ports alone, and we have to deal with the long-term issues that have made us vulnerable to these kinds of traffic jams when demand fluctuates, “Buttigieg added.

The infrastructure plan is valued at $ 1.2 trillion and was approved in the Senate weeks ago with the support of both parties, but it is still pending approval in the Lower House, which wants to vote on the issue on October 31.

That project to rebuild roads and bridges and improve other infrastructure in the country is one of the two legs of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda; the other, pending approval in the Senate, seeks to expand social programs, combat the climate crisis and raise taxes on large companies and the rich.

This week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its forecast for global growth this year to 5.9%, one tenth less than three months ago, due in part to problems in global supply chains.

The Fund also lowered the estimated growth for this year in the United States by one percentage point, which will be 6%, as a result of “a moderation in consumption in the third quarter of the year and changes in the supply chain.”

Last Wednesday, Biden said Wednesday that he hopes to fix the current congestion in the national supply chain by keeping the country’s most important ports open at all hours, Monday through Sunday.