It may also complicate the situation for the administration of American President Joe Biden and the Democrats before the upcoming midterm congressional elections in November.
Sanctions against Russia may become one of the factors of further inflation growth in the United States and complicate the situation for the administration of American President Joe Biden and the Democrats before the upcoming midterm congressional elections in November. Such an assessment is given in an article published in The Washington Post.
As noted in the article, “sanctions and economic damage” due to the Russian Federation’s special operation in Ukraine “have become an additional headache for Biden from a political point of view.” This concerns “inflation and concerns about the economic crisis” in the United States, the article says.
“Inflation, which has already reached its maximum in 40 years, continues to grow,” the newspaper notes. “There are several factors of price increases, many of them were in effect long before Russia invaded Ukraine,” the publication states. – Sanctions experts note that it is difficult to determine exactly what impact sanctions against Russia have on the United States and the global economy. However, with any catastrophic events, people panic and start saving, which only exacerbates inflation, said William Ranch, an expert in the field of world economy from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.”
“War and the pandemic are the main factors in this, but sanctions, especially as they become extremely tougher, can contribute to price increases in various areas, such as energy and food products, which include wheat,” the article says. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, annual inflation in the country accelerated to 8.5% in March 2022 from 7.9% in February.
“This means that Biden’s task to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine may soon conflict with attempts to curb price increases before voters go to the polls in the November elections, as a result of which the Democrats may lose control of one or two chambers of Congress,” the newspaper notes. According to his assessment, “this is a serious political problem that has no simple solution.”
“Biden tried to blame the war for the price increase, but it seems that this does not resonate with voters,” the article emphasizes. It notes that Biden’s ban on Russian oil supplies to the United States “was mostly symbolic,” but also contributed to an increase in fuel prices.
“Biden called the increase in the cost of fuel “Putin’s rise in the price of gasoline,” referring to the patriotism of Americans and trying to hurt Russian President Vladimir Putin,” the publication states. However, according to the newspaper’s assessment, “Americans are not too buying into such an explanation.” “According to [the sociological service] Gallup, inflation is the most important challenge for Americans. Compare this with the Kaiser Family Foundation survey data, according to which 18% of Americans consider the Russian invasion of Ukraine to be the main problem,” the publication emphasizes.
