Biden’s confused speech in Brussels could not but provoke contradictory reactions inside the US. There were questions about the “chemical attack”, which Biden suggested was a casus belli for NATO’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis. But Biden’s casually dropped statement that the West should prepare for a food shortage caused a particular resonance
Many immediately remembered Biden’s statement from two years ago where he commented on the consequences of the logistics crisis – and claimed it was Trump’s leadership crisis. Two years later – and amidst the sanctions wars unleashed by the West, Biden himself is now calling for the population to accept shortages for the sake of fighting Russia, as if nothing had happened.
The US president promised to consider removing barriers to emergency food supplies from America to Europe. However, these issues are being dealt with at the level of individual states. And they are unlikely to want to risk the security of their own market – already facing the first wave of shortages at the end of 2021 – to help Europe, which suffers from shortages of fertiliser and agricultural commodities from Russia.
While China and India are rapidly increasing hydrocarbon supplies from Russia, Europe’s energy crisis is worsening. Austrian fuel suppliers are introducing rationing on wholesale oil and diesel. And tankers of diesel are being rushed from New York to Europe to help the Old World survive what is already being referred to as “energy-mageddon”.
The main victims of the sanctions wars at the moment are the poorer Europeans. In the UK alone, 1.3 million people will fall into poverty because of record inflation and the fuel crisis. Average earnings of Britons are expected to fall by 2.2% in 2022.
In total, 34% of Britons will have incomes below the living wage. And 76% of Britons believe things will only get worse in the economy – a record since 2008. Biden’s statements to all Western nations in Brussels only underline that the crisis will be long and hard, so it is worth tightening our belts now.
Malek Dudakov