拜登要凌乱了，美国卡车司机准备声援加拿大'Freedom Convoy'

'Freedom Convoy'

A third border crossing between the U.S.-Canada was blockaded by truckers on Thursday, building on the "Freedom Convoy" movement that has been protesting vaccine mandates and other coronavirus restrictions. The Emerson crossing between Manitoba and North Dakota was shut down in both directions, in addition to the Coutts crossing linking the province of Alberta with Montana, as well as the critical Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit.

Crisis deepens: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have phoned their Canadian counterparts about the situation, urging them to use federal powers to resolve the standoff. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens also made a plea for a court injunction, citing economic damage, while Canadian officials successfully asked a court to freeze millions of dollars in donations through crowd-funding site GiveSendGo after cutting off a similar effort on GoFundMe. Meanwhile, the Detroit International Bridge Company, which owns the Ambassador Bridge, pushed Canada to end the protest by rescinding the vaccine mandate or removing the vehicles so trade can resume.

The demonstrations have already disrupted production lines and even shut down the plants of nearby automakers like Ford (NYSE:F), GM (NYSE:GM), Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Honda (NYSE:HMC). "We hope this situation is resolved quickly because it could have widespread impact on all automakers in the U.S. and Canada," a Ford spokesman declared. Putting it in perspective, the Ambassador Bridge is the busiest international land-border crossing in North America, responsible for 30% of about $600B in annual two-way trade between the U.S. and Canada.

Things could get worse: In a bulletin to local and state law enforcement agencies, the Department of Homeland Security said it has received reports that truckers are planning to "potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities." A convoy could begin in Southern California as early as this weekend, possibly disrupting traffic around the Super Bowl, and reach Washington in March in time for the State of the Union address. North of the border, demonstrations are going into their third week in Ottawa, where truckers have clogged up traffic and paralyzed the Canadian capital.