US President Joe Biden will unveil plans to combat spiking costs of gas later in the day, the White House said.
According to recent reports, Washington plans to extend the availability of higher biofuel-blended gasoline in a bid to ease the situation on the American fuel market and at the same time to cut reliance on foreign energy sources.
It is expected that the Environmental Protection Agency will permit the sale of E15 gasoline (which uses a 15% ethanol blend) across the country starting this summer. According to the Biden administration, E15 can save a family 10 cents per gallon of gas on average, considering current prices.
In this Friday, May 20, 2021, photo, a fuel truck driver checks the gasoline tank level at a United Oil gas station in Sunset Blvd., in Los Angeles.
© AP Photo / Damian Dovarganes
Fuel prices in Europe and the US have been rising dramatically since last year over growing energy demand, as the global economy was recovering from COVID. Another major spike occurred after Washington and its allied slapped sanctions on Moscow amid the latter's special op in Ukraine.
Biden ordered a boycott of Russian energy imports and called on EU allies to do as much as posible to reduce their dependence on Russian fuel. Russia replied to these steps by demanding to pay for gas in rubles.