Fears mount for auto sector in North America, with copycat protests spreading overseas

OTTAWA/WASHINGTON/WELLINGTON－Truckers opposed to coronavirus mandates risk causing lasting pain to the auto sector and supply chains as they block US-Canada border crossings, with the disruptions sparking fears the consequences will be felt right across the North American auto industry.

More broadly, many pandemic-weary Western countries will soon mark two years of movement restrictions as copycat protests spread to Australia, New Zealand, and France now that the highly infectious Omicron variant has begun to ease in some places.

Horn-blaring protests have been causing gridlock in the Canadian capital Ottawa since late January. From Monday night, truckers shut inbound Canada traffic at the Ambassador Bridge, a supply route for Detroit's carmakers and agricultural products.

The bridge carries 25 percent of all trade between Canada and the United States, and some authorities expressed increasing worries about the economic effects.

"I think it's important for everyone in Canada and the United States to understand what the impact of this blockage is－potential impact－on workers, on the supply chain, and that is where we're most focused," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem called for a swift resolution of the problem.

"If there were to be prolonged blockages at key entry points into Canada that could start to have a measurable impact on economic activity," he said.

"We've already got a strained global supply chain. We don't need this."

The protests have been disrupting jobs, too, and "must end before further damage occurs", Canada's Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told reporters.

A number of carmakers have been affected by the disruptions near Detroit, the historic heart of the US automotive sector.

Toyota, the top seller of vehicles in the US, said it is not expected to produce models at its Ontario sites for the rest of the week.

Production suspended

Ford suspended engine production in Windsor, Ontario, and its Oakville factory near Toronto is operating with a reduced schedule, as it warned of the disruptions caused by the partial closure of Ambassador Bridge.

Chrysler maker Stellantis said it had to end shifts early on Tuesday.

Starting as a "Freedom Convoy "occupying downtown Ottawa to show opposition to a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by the US government, protesters have also aired grievances about a carbon tax and other legislation.

In the United States, prosecutors in Missouri and Texas will probe crowdfunding service GoFundMe over the decision to take down a page for a campaign in support of the drivers.

The US Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that the protests could affect this weekend's Super Bowl in Los Angeles, CNN reported.

On Wednesday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block a lower-court ruling that US President Joe Biden could not require federal employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Inspired by the noisy protests in North America, similar movements have taken hold in Australia, New Zealand, and France.

In New Zealand, protests began on Tuesday, with hundreds of semitrailers and camper vans jamming streets in central Wellington, the national capital.

Police and anti-vaccine protesters clashed on the grounds of the country's parliament on Thursday, with more than 120 arrested after demonstrators who camped outside the legislature for three days were ordered to move on.

Activists chanted the Maori haka and yelled "hold the line", as they scuffled with a phalanx of officers moving to clear a makeshift settlement on the lawns of parliament.

Officers used pepper spray on a number of protesters who dragged two of their colleagues into the crowd, but only minor injuries were reported.

In France, thousands of protesters inspired by the Canadian truckers plan to converge on Paris on Friday evening, with some aiming to move on to Brussels on Monday. Paris police authority said on Thursday that the protests will be banned.

Agencies via Xinhua