US would rake in billions of dollars through Ukraine aid package: report
The US stands to rake in billions of dollars should a proposed $95 billion aid package that includes funding for Ukraine pass the House, officials and experts say.
As American lawmakers debate the merits of the ambitious aid package earmarked for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, the Biden administration has touted that the plan would see money flow back to the US defense industry, which could gain as much as $38.8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“That’s one of the things that is misunderstood … how important that funding is for employment and production around the country,” said Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the US defense industry has experienced a massive production boom for its weapons and ammunition as European allies build up their defenses against Moscow.
The wartime boost overcame the drop in production caused by the pandemic, with orders for US fighter jets and other military equipment seeing decades worth of sales in just a couple of years.
The State Department recently noted that the US secured more than $80 billion in arms deals over the past year, with more than half coming from European allies.
In August, the US made a $30 billion sale of Apache helicopters, rocket systems, tanks and other military hardware to Poland, whose foreign minister has called on the US not to abandon Ukraine and Europe.
“The past few years are equal to the prior 20 years,” Myles Walton, a military industry analyst at Wolfe Research, told the WSJ about America’s arms sales and production.
The US also stands to gain from its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production after the Russian gas supply was cut off and inflation sent energy prices soaring.
With the US becoming the world’s largest LNG exporter last year, about two-thirds of the exports have gone to Europe. Those exports are expected to nearly double by 2030, according to the Department of Energy.
But opponents of the funding bill have pointed out that the benefits and cash flow-back takes time, with foreign nations often taking years to pay their bills.
It also is unclear how many Americans will actually benefit from the production boom, as jobs tied to Ukraine are only a small share of the national employment and income, the WSJ said.
Many House Republicans have criticized the bill, claiming the US cannot afford to keep supporting Kyiv, with the money better spent on beefing up security at America’s own borders.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is allegedly in “no rush” to push the aid package to a vote and has said the legislation will not pass the House in its current form, CNN said.
