Image Credit: Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images 
The Biden administration reportedly urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to use federal powers to quell the truck blockade that has halted the flow of auto parts on the Ambassador Bridge.
For the past four days, the Canadian “Freedom Convoy” protests have blocked traffic on the main thoroughfare connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, forcing auto plants in both countries to either shut down or slow production due to the delay in part deliveries.
“The White House said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke with their Canadian counterparts and urged them to help resolve the standoff,” reported the Associated Press.
“A federal government official said they are not ruling out any options,” AP added. “The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.”
The bridge carries 25 percent of all trade between the United States and Canada; effects of the blockades were immediately felt by automakers and mid-west economies. Per the AP:
Ford said its Windsor engine plant reopened Thursday after being shut down on Wednesday because of a lack of parts. But the factory and the company’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto, were operating at reduced capacity, the automaker said.
On the U.S. side, GM sent the first shift home two hours early Thursday at its Flint, Michigan, heavy-duty pickup truck plant due to parts shortages. Stellantis cut short the first shift Friday at its Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, due to parts shortages.
Honda will temporarily stop production on one assembly line during the day shift Friday at its plant in Alliston, Ontario. It’s because of border delays. U.S. Plants are scheduled to run normally Friday. Toyota said three of its plants in Ontario closed for the rest of the week because of parts shortages, and production also had to be curtailed in Georgetown, Kentucky.
Both Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Teamsters union have denounced the blockades.
“It’s hitting paychecks and production lines. That is unacceptable,” said Whitmer.
Exactly the type of federal powers that Justin Trudeau could employ to stop the blockade was not detailed, though the prime minister has said the military remains off the table for the time being. Local tow truck companies have refused to cooperate with authorities.