The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has urged President Joe Biden to “significantly expand” efforts to guard Red Sea shipping lanes from ongoing Houthi rebel attacks, while also calling on the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) to resume negotiations on a labor deal ahead of an impending January 15 deadline to avert a strike at East and Gulf Coast ports.
November 19 marked a year since Houthi rebels attacked the British-owned Galaxy Leader cargo ship as it moved through the Red Sea, seizing its crew members, who remain hostages to this day. Since then, Houthis have targeted more than 90 vessels moving through the crucial shipping channel, sinking two and killing four people. That’s forced ocean carriers to reroute vessels around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, delaying shipments and increasing shipping and fuel costs to account for the longer journey.
“U.S. businesses, workers, and consumers are also bearing the brunt of the consequences,” AAFA president and CEO Steve Lamar said in a November 19 letter to President Biden. “The rising costs from rerouting vessels are unsustainable, and the impact on American industries is severe. American consumers and businesses cannot afford further delays or disruptions.”
Talks between the ILA and USMX stalled out in mid-November, as the two parties remain in a standoff over the future of automation at U.S. ports. The ILA went on strike for three days at the start of October, but reached a temporary agreement with the USMX on wage increases, which extended the deadline for a new contract to January 15, 2025. If that deadline passes without a deal and port workers go on strike, it would add a risk of delays during the Chinese Lunar New Year in February, exacerbating the slowdown in supplies that occurs when many factories in China are shut down for celebrations. In a petition to the ILA and USMX, the AAFA — which represents more than 1,000 U.S. retailers and manufacturers — urged the two sides to restart negotiations in order to avoid a prolonged work stoppage that would only serve to complicate an “already challenging global supply chain environment.”
