With the holidays approaching, the world is also facing supply chain issues in the midst of many looking to do their shopping at this time. In an effort to address the issues, US President Joe Biden held a meeting at the White House with CEOs of several major retailers.
Biden hosted the CEOs at the White House Monday, where they discussed the administration’s efforts to tackle global supply chain bottlenecks while also assuring the public that there will be stocks of goods in time for the coming holidays, according to CNBC.
Etsy CEO Josh Silverman, Samsung CEO KS Choi, Food Lion President Meg Ham, Todos Supermarket CEO Carlos Castro, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, Best Buy CEO Corrie Barry, Qurate Retail Group CEO David Rawlinson were in attendance. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch attended the meeting virtually.
During the meeting, Biden asked the executives how they each plan to tackle supply chain issues. The US leader also wanted to know the challenges that small businesses are facing and how the federal government could assist retailers in keeping shelves stocked, especially in the coming holiday season.
The Biden administration created a Supply Chain Disruption Task Force back in June to address the issue, with John Porcari as the group’s representative. During the fall, the administration worked with the ports at Long Beach and Los Angeles to expand their operating hours and reduce the long line of ships that are waiting to unload cargo. In November, the administration unveiled another set of steps aimed at addressing cargo backlogs at the major ports.
In other related news, Biden reacted to the recent shooting that occurred in Michigan that left three people dead and eight injured. The shooting took place at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, with the three fatalities believed to be students. The suspect was identified as a 15-year-old sophomore boy and turned himself into the authorities.
“I was informed after the tour. I learned about a school shooting in Michigan. As we learn the full details my heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable grief of losing a loved one,” said Biden during his remarks at Minnesota.