The situation at the U.S.-Canada borders appears to be changing more frequently than truck drivers change their socks. After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly dropped a vaccine mandate to cross the border, he’s now reversing field. His counterpart in the U.S., President Joe Biden, is not helping the situation either by banning unvaccinated CDL holders.
After succumbing to trucking industry and political pressure, Canada Border Services Agency reportedly indicated that unvaccinated, or partially vaccinated Canadian truck drivers arriving at the U.S.-Canada border would be exempt from pre-arrival, arrival, post-arrival testing, and quarantine requirements.
Those rules changed unexpectedly when the Canadian government threw a wrench into its relaxed policy. Prime Minister Trudeau will allow unvaccinated truckers to travel south, but they face stringent guidelines when returning. Drivers returning from the U.S. will likely be sidelined for two weeks. Dozens of Canadian truckers protested by blocking lanes along the U.S.-Manitoba international border.
“We need to end all of these totalitarian mandates that our government has imposed on us for the last two years,” protest organizer Rick Wall reportedly said. “This is put on by truckers, but we are calling to end all mandates for every single human being in this country, not just for us. It’s extremely frustrating.”
Several of the 30-40 rigs conducting a slow highway blocking convoy adorned slogans directed at the Canadian mandate. Upwards of 15 percent of Manitoba truckers are reportedly not vaccinated. The Canadian Trucking Alliance indicates that upwards of 10 percent of the country’s 120,000 CDL workforce will effectively be sidelined. In an already tight labor landscape, losing 12,000 tractor-trailers will likely stoke inflation on produce and perishable goods.
“Canada is our largest trading partner, so any disruption at the border will certainly have consequences for the U.S. economy whether it is the auto sector and other manufacturing agricultural products or consumer goods,” American Trucking Associations chief economist Bob Costello reportedly said.
On the American side of the border, the Biden Administration announced a plan to effectively bar unvaccinated truckers from entering the country. Biden’s mandate requires all persons entering the country to show proof of vaccination status. Truck drivers will not be exempt from the White House executive order even though the administration had a national vaccine mandate overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
With the U.S. suffering through 40-year-high inflation and supply chain disruption, car and truck manufacturers fear another wave of auto parts shortages. Auto part imports from Canada exceeded $14 billion last year and parts coming up from Mexico topped $51.6 billion, according to reports.
“Due to the current supply chain issues and chip shortages that the American automotive manufacturers are facing, we believe any additional strains placed on the supply chain have the potential to exacerbate this situation and could cause the demands on both the automotive manufacturers and the aftermarket to rise even further,” Auto Care Association president Bill Hanvey reportedly said.
The unpredictable Covid policies on both sides of the border create uncertainty among truck drivers.
Sources: reuters.com, supplychainscene.com
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