The National Retail Federation (NRF) has issued a response to President Biden’s recent appointment of John D. Porcari as Port Envoy to address supply chain disruptions.
Senior Vice President of Government Relations, David French, stated,“Retailers have faced a number of unprecedented challenges during the pandemic, and the supply chain disruptions that continue to evolve pose a threat to many American businesses. As consumer demand increases, the supply chain challenges and the costs associated with them remain significant. Imports at retail container ports have marked record highs recently as consumer demand continues to stretch supply chains and retailers shift to the peak shipping season for winter holiday merchandise,” he added. “The bottlenecks and congestion we are seeing at our ports highlight the need for an improved and sophisticated supply chain that can handle these issues.”
In June, the NRF submitted a letter to President Biden outlining the numerous supply chain challenges retailers have faced throughout the pandemic and potential solutions to current and future disruptions.
French further stated, “NRF is encouraged by the Biden administration’s action on this critical issue. We look forward to working with Envoy Porcari, Secretary Buttigieg and the full Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to mitigate these challenges, particularly in advance of the upcoming holiday season, so that retailers can ensure consumers can access the products they want and need in a timely manner.”
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 52 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has represented retailers and retail jobs through educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies.
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