Jeff Bezos goes 'Ouch' over Biden's appeal to lower fuel prices
Washington (US), July 4: Amazon owner Jeff Bezos slammed US President Joe Biden for asking oil companies to lower gasoline prices.
"My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you're paying for the product. And do it now," Biden had tweeted.
Reacting to the President's statement, Bezos said that Biden's remarks amounted to "either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics."
"Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It's either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics," Bezos said on Sunday.
Fuel prices at the pump in the United States have reached all-time highs.
Also Read | Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde wins trust vote in Assembly
According to the US Secretary of Energy, the US has called on all oil and gas producers, including the OPEC club of the world's largest oil exporters, to increase output in order to control rising gasoline prices.
In response to Bezos' tweet, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that oil prices have dropped by about USD 15 in the last month, but pump prices have barely decreased.
"Oil prices have dropped by about $15 over the past month, but prices at the pump have barely come down. That's not basic market dynamics. It's a market that is failing the American consumer," she stated.
US National Security Coordinator John Kirby defended Biden's tweet urging gas companies to lower their prices, saying, "I think anybody that knows President Biden knows he's plain-spoken and he tells exactly what he's thinking in terms that everybody can understand."
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden had asked Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for 90 days, as Americans need immediate relief amid the nation's soaring gas rates.
"By suspending the 18-cent gas tax -- federal gas tax for the next 90 days, we can bring down the price of gas and give families just a little bit of relief," Biden had said.
Also Read | Over 900 IndiGo flights delayed as crew members head for job interviews
-PTC News
