Tuesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) discussed the possible fallout of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, impacting Americans.
Rubio told CBS “This Morning” Americans could see spikes in commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, and a direct impact on the commercial space industry due to Russia’s actions.
“I’ll focus on four things,” he said. “The first is the price of oil. If the price of oil goes up to $110, $115 a barrel, we’re going to feel that at the pump. The second thing is Ukraine is one of the world’s largest agricultural producers, the fourth largest in wheat, the fifth largest in corn. [An invasion of Ukraine] is going to raise global food prices, which eventually impacts us, because when somebody gets cut off from [Ukrainian supplies], they become our competitors in the global market for food costs.”
“The third is, Ukraine is the world’s leading producer of neon gas, which is critical to the production of semiconductors,” Rubio continued. “Ninety percent of the neon gas used to make semiconductors in America – which we have a shortage of already – comes from Ukraine. If that’s disrupted or cut off, we are going to struggle. I remember back in 2014, when [Russia invaded Crimea], it increased the prices of semiconductors, and you can see now where that’s playing out in our economy.”
“[The fourth is] our space industry,” he added. We still depend on Russia for key components of many of our commercial launches. [If Russian imports are cut off], you could begin to see launches scrapped, things that are critical to both national security and also our commercial viability.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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