Recently, Joe Biden was assured that conditions are improving by the CEOs of major retailers, such as Walmart and Kroger CEOs, as well as Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officials, at the White House on Monday.
Americans have felt the effects of the supply-chain crisis firsthand, including delayed couch deliveries and expensive Thanksgiving turkeys before this information came in on Monday.
Following the CEO summit, Biden canceled his press briefing for an undisclosed reason.
A few of these retailer executives were asked to provide information to the FTC with a 45-day window set for them to apply.
Biden also announced that an inquiry would be launched to analyze supply chain disruptions that were harming consumers and reducing competition in the US economy.
Moreso, Biden requested internal documents from nine major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger, about their pricing and supply strategies.
“Supply chain disruptions are upending the provision and delivery of a wide array of goods, ranging from computer chips and medicines to meat and lumber,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan.
“I am hopeful the FTC’s new 6(b) study will shed light on market conditions and business practices that may have worsened these disruptions or led to asymmetric effects.”
At the early hours of Monday, Walmart CEO Doug McMillion had told President Biden that he had seen “a lot of improvement” with the supply-chain crisis.
McMillon explained that Walmart now has more inventory than it did a year ago and that the company is “seeing progress. The port and transit delays are improving.”
As a result of the Biden administration’s efforts, shipping container congestion has eased, he credited, noting an increase of 26% at the ports nationally and 51% at the ports in the southern California ports over the past four weeks.
“Wow,” was the president’s response after McMillon completed his statement.
