Blockade by Canadian truckers poses risk to auto industry's supply chain: US

WASHINGTON • The Canadian truckers' blockade is posing a risk to the auto industry's supply chain and US officials are in touch with their counterparts in Canada on the issue, the White House said.

The nearly two-week long protests against Covid-19 restrictions have at times this week halted or sharply slowed traffic at the Ambassador Bridge that connects Detroit in Michigan with Windsor in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The bridge, Canada's busiest link to the United States, accounts for about 25 per cent of trade between the two countries as it is used to transport vehicles and parts and agricultural products.

"We are watching this very closely," White House spokesman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. "The blockade poses a risk to supply chains for the auto industry."

Chrysler parent Stellantis said its Windsor Assembly Plant had to cut short its first and second shifts on Tuesday over parts shortages caused by the disruptions, adding: "The plant resumed production (on Wednesday). We continue to work closely with our carriers to get parts into the plant to mitigate further disruptions."

Ford and Toyota on Wednesday both said they were halting some production. Toyota, the top US seller, said it is not expected to produce vehicles at its Ontario sites for the rest of the week.

A General Motors spokesman said the Detroit automaker has not seen any issues but is monitoring the situation.

US Customs officials have helped reroute some commercial travel to the Bluewater Bridge that connects Port Huron in Michigan to Canada.

The Department of Homeland Security warned law enforcement agencies that a convoy of protesting truckers could affect this weekend's Super Bowl in Los Angeles.

It issued a bulletin to US authorities saying it "has received reports of truck drivers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the US in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers", CNN reported on Wednesday.

It could have an impact on the Super Bowl on Sunday and President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on March 1.

Meanwhile, police in Paris said yesterday that French "freedom convoy" motorists protesting against Covid-19 curbs will be blocked from the French capital.

The protesters set out from southern France on Wednesday in what they call a "freedom convoy" that will converge on Paris and Brussels to demand an end to Covid-19 restrictions, inspired by the demonstrators who have gridlocked Canada's capital Ottawa.

The Paris prefecture, citing the risk of public disorder, said the protesters would be prohibited from entering the capital until Feb 14.

REUTERS