The United States is releasing 50 million barrels of oil, more fuel than ever before, from the so-called National Petroleum Reserve in order to depress gas station prices.
American President Joe Binden announced this in a short speech on Tuesday.
In addition, he persuaded the governments of Japan, India, South Korea and Great Britain to also release reserves.
Even China is open to a corresponding step, said Biden.
He has worked hard over the past few weeks to make this concerted action possible.
Winand von Petersdorff-Campen
Business correspondent in Washington.
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The President reiterated his suspicion that large oil companies were jointly responsible for the high prices because they had not passed on the price reductions that had already taken place for the intermediate products to the end customers and instead filled their pockets.
That is why he asked the FTC, the independent antitrust authority, to determine whether the corporations were practicing illegal pricing policies.
Biden turned against what he called the "myth" that the high gasoline prices were a result of his environmental policy.
"My commitment to the fight against climate change has not contributed to higher gasoline prices or affected the availability of the fuel."
Rather, climate policy creates new jobs for the production of electric cars, which save drivers hundreds of dollars a year.
Port action plan against delivery congestion
Biden cited problems with the supply chains as the central factor behind the generally high inflation rate of 6.2 percent. His port action plan has already helped to reduce delivery backlogs. In negotiations with trade unions and port operators of the two most important ports on the west coast in Long Beach and Los Angeles, the White House had, according to its own information, achieved a switch from operating 40 hours a week to continuous operation for handling the ships. The number of containers stacked there has already been reduced by 33 percent, and ship freight rates are 25 percent cheaper. Biden also referred to conversations with the bosses of the major retail groups who promised him to move goods faster.
Biden assured the Americans shouldn't worry.
The supermarkets are well stocked with turkey and other ingredients for a successful Thanksgiving festival, which is celebrated this Thursday in the United States.
There would also be enough goods on the shelves for Christmas.
There is much that America can be grateful for.
The United States is the only major nation whose economy is stronger today than it was before the pandemic and whose citizens have more money in their pockets today than they did then.