It isn’t accurate to talk about the supply chain problems we are facing in terms of “this administration” or “that administration”

Gustavo Oliveira, Assistant Professor of Global and International Studies at University of California, Irvine has this response to the claim from Texas Rep. Lance Gooden who tweeted “The United States didn’t have a supply chain crisis until Joe Biden became president,” on October 17th.

It isn’t accurate to talk about the supply chain problems we are facing in terms of “this administration” or “that administration,” because the problem has been here for a long time. Prices of containers and pallets have been rising dramatically for at least three years, for example, and the conditions that create this vulnerability to disruptions come from decades of just-in-time logistics and production worldwide. By limiting stocks and accelerating flows, corporations increase profits, but structurally sacrifice supply chain resilience – alongside the well-being of workers and the environment. Truly resolving the supply chain crisis requires confronting the power and profits of the world’s leading corporations in a way that unfortunately goes beyond the courage or against the interests of most politicians in the US and beyond.