Biden says recession is not inevitable but acknowledges economic pain: 'This is going to be a haul'

President Joe Biden said Monday he believes a recession in the US is not inevitable but acknowledged the economic pain that Americans are feeling amid high inflation, supply chain shortages and the geopolitical earthquake caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The President argued the US has made "significant progress" in its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, which he said has put America in a better position than other countries around the globe struggling with the same issues. But he predicted it would take time to fully recover, saying, "This is going to be a haul. This is going to take some time."

"Our GDP is going to grow faster than China's for the first time in 40 years. Now does that mean we don't have problems? We do. We have problems that the rest of the world has, but less consequential than the rest of the world has because of our internal growth and strength," Biden said at a news conference in Tokyo.

The President pointed to the recent announcement by Hyundai that it would be building its first dedicated EV plant and battery manufacturing facility in the United States as evidence of economic progress. Biden also praised the decision by Samsung to build a $17 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility in Texas as part of efforts to tackle a global shortage of chips that has hurt American manufacturing.