WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States still needs to do more to bring down inflation, which is still too high globally, Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Wednesday, adding that the country is moving toward a more healthy labor market going forward.
Speaking in an interview on CNBC, Adeyemo added that the Biden administration is seeking to expand U.S. economic output and employment while bringing down deficits, but may have to modestly raise taxes for some over time.
“Inflation around the globe is too high. And what we’re doing in the United States is the Federal Reserve is doing its part in terms of using its tools to bring down inflation,” Adeyemo said. “And what the president is focused on is doing what we can to expand supply in the US economy.”
Adeyemo’s comments came after U.S. producer prices increased more than expected during September amid strong gains in the costs of services and goods, suggesting inflation could remain uncomfortably high for a while.
The deputy Treasury chief also defended the Biden administration’s proposed “gig economy” rule that would make it harder for companies such as Uber and Lyft to treat workers as independent contractors, saying it was not incompatible with bringing down costs in the economy.
“We can do both things, in terms of bringing down costs in the economy while putting employees into the right classification. That’s exactly what we want to accomplish,” Adeyemo said, adding that as the labor market normalizes, it was important to ensure that workers with jobs were well paid.
(Reporting by David Lawder and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
