Biden Moving Forward with Plan That Actually Makes Supply Chain Issues Worse

Leah Barkoukis | November 24, 2021 7:00 AM

President Biden will move forward with a vaccine mandate on nonresident, essential travelers crossing U.S. land borders, which includes truck drivers, emergency personnel, and government officials.

The mandate takes effect Jan. 22 and follows the administration’s decision to open land and ferry ports to nonessential travelers who are fully vaccinated earlier this month.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents can still enter the country even if they are not vaccinated but they will be subject to testing.

The administration’s decision to include truckers is particularly worrying given the supply chain concerns and shortage of drivers.

"The US is already facing unprecedented supply chain disruptions and delays due to many factors, including significant labor shortages, production shutdowns, a shortage of raw materials, and pent-up consumer demand," the American Trucking Association told the administration earlier this month, according to AP. "Our data shows that a vaccine mandate may very well further cripple the supply chain throughout the country by forcing up to 13% of drivers to leave the industry entirely.”