The deadline is approaching: on September 30, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) must provide a concrete response regarding a contract renewal.

If a solution is not reached by October 1, the ILA, which represents around 45,000 dock workers, will initiate a shutdown affecting the East Coast and Gulf ports of the United States.

The strike could impact 43% of all U.S. imports, including fruit shipments, and billions of dollars in monthly trade.

Amid this uncertainty, particularly for the logistics sector, Iván Marambio, president of Fruits of Chile, stated that the sector does not currently foresee problems for the transportation of Chilean fruit.

“We are just beginning the 2024-2025 fruit export season, with the first shipments of blueberries in the coming weeks. We hope the conflict will be resolved before these shipments arrive, which is in approximately 20 days,” he said in statements to Fruits of Chile.

“Fortunately, the Holt Port in Gloucester is not part of the conflict and it'll continue handling fruit shipments. Thus, we estimate that the announced shutdown for the first week of October should not significantly impact our fruits. We believe and hope that a solution will come before our fruits reach the United States,” he said.

He added, “At Fruits of Chile, we are staying alert and constantly evaluating the situation.”

The port strike is expected to affect various parts of the supply chain, from retailers to producers.

President Joe Biden stated that he does not plan to invoke federal law to prevent a port strike on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico if dock workers do not reach a new labor contract before the October 1 deadline.