There is the possibility of a strike once the contract lapses, with unionized workers objecting to the addition of new technologies to U.S. ports that they say could ultimately cause job losses.

Port employers met with White House officials Friday as negotiations with the union representing East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers are at an impasse with a potential strike looming.

A trio of President Joe Biden’s aides are meeting with representatives of ocean carriers and terminal operators Friday with the aim of averting a strike that could shutter every major container port on the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts — while also signaling the White House won’t intervene to force workers back to the docks if they walk out.

At least 25,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports could walk off the job next week, impacting about half of the country's imports and possibly sending prices higher for consumers. Negotiations between the workers' union and the employers face a Tuesday deadline.

Mirko Woitzik, global director of Intelligence for Everstream Analytics said that his company’s analysis of historic congestion and strike data for U.S. ports concludes that every 24-hour shutdown of all East and Gulf Coast ports would result in operational backlogs that could take up to 7 days to clear,