Why the trucker blockade was a bridge too far for Canada's economy
CBC
Canada's economy has billions of reasons to hope that recent border blockades get quickly forgotten as a fleeting phenomenon by decision-makers in the United States.
This country's second-most valuable export industry, automobiles, depends even in normal times on being perceived as reliable by its main customer and not as some incident-prone flake.
And these aren't normal times. In fact, it's an abnormally sensitive time, as American politicians and the auto industry have big decisions to make about the future of the sector.
Look to history for some uncomfortable lessons on what could happen when Americans start having fears over the long term about disruptions to their vital industrial imports.
It happened to the oil industry. The effect lasted decades.
When supplies were interrupted by Middle Eastern rivals in the 1970s, the U.S. responded by re-engineering trade routes.
"We must end vulnerability to economic disruption by foreign suppliers," then-president Gerald Ford said in his 1975 State of the Union address.
The U.S. soon banned most exports of its oil, and the ban remained in place for 40 years, stemming from an energy law whose initial version in the House of Representatives was introduced by Michigan's John Dingell.
Fast forward to February 2022, and that late congressman's wife is now a member of Congress who has some concerns about the reliability of Canadian auto imports.
In an interview with CBC News, Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell mused about possible consequences from days of blockages at the top binational checkpoint caused by truckers' opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Canada.
She said it took longer than it could have to reopen the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, and she cited Canada's reluctance to arrest protesters.
When asked if this episode makes her question the wisdom of relying on imports from Canada, Dingell replied: "I'm going to be very blunt: It does.
"We cannot let ourselves be held hostage to these kinds of situations. If this is going to become a new and regular situation, we've got to bring our supply chain back home. We can't count on this bilateral relationship we have."
That single bridge carries $300 million in goods every day that account for one-quarter of Canada-U.S. trade.
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