Joe Biden must unveil a three billion dollar investment plan for American port infrastructure on Tuesday in Baltimore (north-east), said the White House, one week before the presidential election. The plan that the American president will present in the large port of Maryland, crucial for the automobile industry but which was blocked for many weeks after the accidental collapse of a large bridge in March, is part of a program aimed at make American ports “cleaner”.
The funds come from the “Inflation Reduction Act” – a massive investment law for the energy transition – and should in particular allow the purchase of charging equipment operating with electric or hydrogen batteries, according to a White House press release. The objective is to reduce CO2 emissions from American ports by more than three million tonnes over a period of ten years.
These efforts are part of the Biden-Harris government’s objectives to achieve “a zero-emission freight sector,” assures the White House. The investments will be spread across 27 US states and territories, with $147 million going to the Maryland Port Authority. U.S. ports employ about 100,000 union workers. This category of voters, blue-collar workers, is particularly coveted by Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, neck and neck before the November 5 election.
