Port strike will bring another hit to farmers, says former Trump official

foxbusiness.com:

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., says possible port strikes across America could really 'exacerbate' supply chain problems on 'The Evening Edit.' 

The strike by workers at ports from Texas to Maine will reportedly hammer U.S. farmers already dealing with an economic downward spiral. 

«We don't need another hit right now. And this is definitely going to have an impact on agriculture,» Kip Tom, former United States ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture during the Trump administration, told FOX Business.

Unionized dockworkers in the International Longshoremen's Association, which represents 45,000 members at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, may go on strike beginning Oct. 1 if an agreement isn't reached by the end of Monday.

LONGSHOREMEN UNION'S DEMAND FOR TOTAL BAN ON AUTOMATION QUESTIONED AS PORT STRIKE LOOMS

The two sides to the labor dispute have been at an impasse over issues including wages and automation at ports.

The Seamax Mystic container ship is shown near the Port of New Orleans on March 3, 2022. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A strike would have a domino effect on container availability, storage, rail and truck cargo as well as food supply.  

«They’re not going to process more chickens because they don't have them sold or they don't have a place for them to go. They're a perishable item. We can get into beef, pork and dairy at the same time. So, it just backs up the entire supply chain. It comes back to the farmer,» Tom said. «What happens is that the market prices go down because you get excess inventory coming on the marketplace.»

WHAT PRODUCTS WOULD BE DISRUPTED BY A PORT STRIKE?

An analysis by J.P. Morgan estimated a strike would cost the U.S. economy up to $5 billion