As Wall Street braces for another inflation report north of 8%, President Joe Biden said he could drop some of the tariffs imposed against Chinese imports to help control rising consumer prices in the U.S.
Biden said that the White House is looking at the penalties imposed by the former president, which raised prices on everything from diapers to clothing and furniture.
Biden said that removing the tariffs was currently under discussion and that they were looking at what would have the most positive impact.
In an effort to bolster American-made goods, Trump levied a raft of financial penalties on Chinese goods.
The extent to which removing Trump's taxes on Chinese products would cool inflation is a matter of debate among economists, but many say easing or removing the tariffs altogether is among the few options available to a White House eager to pull every lever available to ease costs.
The president said that the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian President has caused prices in the U.S. to jump at their fastest pace since the early 1980s.
The first cause of inflation is a once-in-a-century epidemic. It shut down the global economy and threw supply chains out of whack.
The rise in oil prices was caused by Mr. Putin's war in Ukraine, he said.
While West Texas crude futures are off highs of over $130 a barrel seen in March, oil contracts for June delivery were last seen trading around $100, $30 above where they began the year.
The president said that the war has driven up the prices of contracts for key food products such as wheat and corn, which are up 40% and 30%, respectively, in 2022. More than a quarter of the world's wheat is supplied by Russia and Ukraine.
China's recent efforts to curb rising cases and the war in Ukraine are both to blame for the 8.5% rise in inflation over the last year, according to economists. The Labor Department's upcoming report on April inflation is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. The time is Wednesday.
The report is expected to show that inflation rose in the 12 months ending in April.
Biden's comments the day before the release is the administration's latest attempt to convince the American public that the White House is exploring all options available to quell rising prices. According to dozens of polls, Americans now think inflation is the most important issue facing the U.S. and a threat to the economic recovery from the Covid recession.
The US employment rate held steady at a low of 3.6% last month, as higher gas and grocery bills continue to erode paychecks and spark angst across the country.
Biden has been trying to calm those feelings through regular speeches.
He said last week that the reduction in the federal deficit this fiscal year was a departure from what he characterized as rampant spending by his Republican predecessor.
Republicans argue that the rash of inflation is due to the Democrats' ambitious economic policies, including trillions in Covid relief in the American Rescue Plan as well as the bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed in 2021.
If Biden and his Democratic colleagues had passed a suite of climate, housing and workforce legislation, the GOP says, federal spending might have been higher and the expected deficit larger.
Those attacks pose a political problem for Democrats as they face an uphill battle to retain control of Congress in November. The Senate is split between Democrats and Republicans, while the House is in favor of Democrats.
Biden has countered Republican barbs by trumpeting the administration's efforts to lower prescription drug costs and raise taxes on the richest Americans.
What is the congressional Republican plan? They don't want inflation to be solved by lowering costs. Biden said Tuesday that they want to solve it by raising your taxes and lowering your income.
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