U.S. Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) led nine of her Republican colleagues in urging President Joe Biden to ensure safe passage for global trade cargo ships in the Red Sea that have faced threats and attacks from an Iranian-backed militia known as the Houthis.
Rep. Miller and the lawmakers asked Biden to work with America’s international partners to secure trade lanes, along which many companies have had to redirect their cargo shipments, delaying arrivals and increasing costs for consumers, according to a Dec. 22, 2023, letter they sent to the president.
Specifically, the militia has attacked global shipping in the Red Sea, near the Suez Canal, which provides passage to about 12 percent of the world’s seaborne oil and 8 percent of its liquefied natural gas, according to their letter.
Among the members who joined Rep. Miller in signing the letter are U.S. Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) and August Pfluger (R-TX), who wrote that the militia’s attacks have forced trade giants, such as BP and Maersk, to suspend passage through the Suez Canal and redirect their ships around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
“Experts have estimated that traveling from Asia to Northern Europe around the Cape of Good Hope extends journey times from 31 to 40 days,” they wrote. “This amounts to tens of millions of dollars being unnecessarily spent by companies to travel around the Cape of Good Hope, just to avert potential violence in the Suez Canal.”
Consumers bear the brunt of the companies’ additional costs through increased prices, and trade experts have predicted “substantial ripple effects” across the global supply chain if the threat in the Red Sea is not neutralized within days, they wrote.
“We are cautiously optimistic that your initiative to spearhead the multinational task force to protect commercial passage will be successful and we compel the administration to take all necessary steps to ensure safe passage and encourage foreign nations to engage as well, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” Rep. Miller and the members wrote.
The Egyptian economy, which relies on the Suez Canal for 25 percent of its earnings, has seen traffic drop 35 percent, worsening the country’s financial crisis, they added.
“Further disruptions to trade through the Suez Canal could send Egypt, a key partner in ensuring peace in Israel and Gaza, into chaos,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is imperative that the Houthi violence is nullified in order to ensure the stability of global trade and the global economy.”