“I think they’ll look back at this decision and surely regret it to bring Chinese cars into their market,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at an event with other government officials at a Ford factory in Ohio to tout efforts to make vehicles more affordable.

Under the new deal, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expects China will lower tariffs on its canola seed by March 1 to a combined rate of about 15 per cent. Those tariffs were generally thought to be in retaliation for Canada’s duties on electric vehicles.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canada originally imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in lockstep with the Biden administration. Since then, relations with the U.S. have deteriorated.

Canada in 2024 imposed 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs following similar U.S. duties. But its recent move to allow EVs has prompted alarm in the U.S. that it could help China get a broader foothold in North America even as Washington takes an increasingly hardline on Canadian vehicles and parts.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the limited number of vehicles would not impact American car companies exporting cars to Canada.

“I don’t expect that to disrupt American supply into Canada,” he said. “Those cars are going to Canada — they’re not coming here.”

The Canadian Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

Greer in a separate CNBC interview called Canada’s decision “problematic” and added: “There’s a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States. It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles.”

Greer questioned that agreement. “I think in the long run, they’re not going to like having made that deal,” he said.

Greer said rules adopted in January 2025 on vehicles that are connected to the internet and navigation systems are a significant impediment to Chinese vehicles in the U.S. market.

“I think it would be hard for them to operate here,” Greer said. “There are rules and regulations in place in America about the cybersecurity of our vehicles and the systems that go into those, so I think it might be hard for the Chinese to comply with those kind of rules.”

Lawmakers oppose Chinese vehicles

In contrast, President Donald Trump has said he would like Chinese automakers to come to the United States to build vehicles.

However, lawmakers from both major U.S. parties have expressed strong opposition to Chinese vehicles as major U.S. automakers warn China poses a threat to the U.S. auto sector.

Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, said at the event he was opposed to Chinese vehicles coming into the United States — and drew applause from the other government officials.

“As long as I have air in my body, there will not be Chinese vehicles sold the United States of America — period,” Moreno said.

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The strike ended sooner than investors had expected, weakening shipping stocks across Asia on Friday as freight rates were no longer expected to surge.

At least 54 container ships queued outside the ports as the strike had prevented unloading and threatened shortages of anything from bananas to auto parts. Everstream Analytics was calculated the number queuing at 4:00 p.m. ET (2000 GMT). More ships are sure to arrive. Pricing platform Xeneta said it was likely to take two to three weeks for the normal flow of goods to be reestablished.

“Remember that ships keep calling, so it’s not just a matter of handling the ships already in line, but to work extra hard to run down the congestion before supply chains are re-running,” Xeneta Chief Analyst Peter Sand told Reuters.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) workers union and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) port operators announced the deal late on Thursday. Sources said they had agreed a wage hike of around 62 per cent over six years, raising average wages to about $63 an hour from $39 an hour.

Shares in shipping companies in Asia and Europe fell.

“Shipping stocks had previously rallied on expectations of price increases triggered by the strike by U.S. dock workers and the tense situation in the Middle East,” said Taishin Securities Investment Advisory analyst Tony Huang.

The ILA launched the strike by 45,000 port workers, their first major work stoppage since 1977, on Tuesday, affecting 36 ports from Maine to Texas. JP Morgan analysts estimated the strike would cost the U.S. economy around $5 billion per day.

Retailers account for about half of all container shipping volume, with Walmart, IKEA, and Home Depot among those that rely on the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, according to eMarketer analyst Sky Canaves.

Bill of lading figures from Import Yeti, a data firm, show the importers reliant on the affected ports include IKEA, Walmart and Goodyear Tire & Rubber.

East Coast ports are also destinations for coffee, whose price has risen because of the disruptions.

Although the tentative deal on wages has ended the strike, the two sides will continue hammering out other issues, such as the ports’ use of automation that workers say will lead to job losses.

“The decision to end the current strike and allow the East and Gulf coast ports to reopen is good news for the nation’s economy,” the National Retail Federation said in a statement. “The sooner they reach a (final) deal, the better for all American families.”

Cargoes stuck at US ports as labor strike continues https://reut.rs/3zSu1g3

Additional reporting for Reuters by Jihoon Lee in Seoul, Emily Chan in Taipei, Tom Westbrook in Singapore, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen

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The strike blocks everything from food to automobile shipments across dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, a disruption analysts warned will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs and potentially stoke inflation.

Still, President Joe Biden’s administration has indicated it will not use federal powers to end the strike, and on Tuesday pressured dockworker employers to bump up their contract offer to land a deal.

The International Longshoremen’s Association union, which represents 45,000 port workers, had been negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group for a new six-year contract ahead of a midnight Monday deadline.

The ILA said in a statement it shut down all ports from Maine to Texas at 12:01 a.m. ET after rejecting USMX’s final proposal, adding the offer fell “far short of the demands of its members to ratify a new contract”.

The ILA’s leader, Harold Daggett, has said employers such as container ship operator Maersk and its APM Terminals North America have not offered appropriate pay increases or agreed to demands to stop port automation projects that threaten jobs.

“We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve,” Daggett said on Tuesday.

USMX said in a statement that: “Our current offer of a nearly 50 per cent wage increase exceeds every other recent union settlement, while addressing inflation and recognizing the ILA’s hard work to keep the global economy running.”

Daggett said the union is pushing for more, including a $5 per hour (C$6.75) raise for each year of the new six-year contract.

The White House weighed in, saying it was time for the USMX to negotiate a fair contract for workers.

“Shippers have made record profits since the pandemic, and in some case, have seen profits grow in excess of 800 per cent,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to a boom in shipping demand.

“It’s only fair that workers who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open see a meaningful increase in their wages, as well.”

Acting Secretary of Labour Julie Su said the employer group has “refused to put an offer on the table that reflects workers’ sacrifice and contributions to their employer’s profits.”

“The parties need to get back to the negotiating table, and that must begin with these giant shipping magnates acknowledging that if they can make record profits, their workers should share in that economic success,” she said.

The strike, the ILA’s first major stoppage since 1977, is worrying businesses that rely on ocean shipping to export their wares or secure crucial imports. It affects 36 ports – including New York, Baltimore and Houston – that handle a range of containerized goods from bananas to clothing to cars.

The walkout could cost the American economy roughly $5 billion a day (C$6.75 billion), JP Morgan analysts estimate.

French shipping group CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipper, on Tuesday issued a force majeure notice over the strike, and said it may charge additional shipping fees for delayed vessels.

The National Retail Federation called on President Joe Biden’s administration to use its federal authority to halt the strike, saying the walkout could have “devastating consequences” for the economy.

Biden officials have repeatedly said the Democratic president will not do so.

The dispute is wedging labour-friendly Biden into a virtual no-win position, with Vice President Kamala Harris in a razor-thin race for the White House with Republican former President Donald Trump.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it does not expect significant changes to food prices or availability in the near term.

Grocery chain owner Ahold Delhaize also said it expected minimal short-term impact on its supply chain.

Backup plans

Hundreds of dockworkers demonstrated on Tuesday at a New York City area shipping terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, carrying signs and shouting slogans as music blared and vendors hawked food. Daggett arrived to rally them with cheers of “ILA all the way!”

“Everything that comes in this country comes from the containers off these ships that my men work. And I want the world to know it. Don’t come after us saying we’re greedy. Go after those greedy bastards that own these companies in Europe,” Daggett told reporters.

Retailers accounting for about half of all container shipping volume, along with other shippers, have been busily implementing backup plans to minimize the impact of the strike as they head into the winter holiday sales season.

Many of the big players rushed in Halloween and Christmas merchandise early to avoid any strike-related disruptions, incurring extra costs to ship and store those goods.

Retail behemoth Walmart, the largest U.S. container shipper, and membership warehouse club operator Costco say they are doing everything they can to mitigate any impact.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, meanwhile, said it has workaround plans in place to minimize or prevent any disruption to its production, including by using air freight, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing a company spokesperson.

Lars Jensen, CEO of shipping consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said the strike is unlikely to lead to any critical shortages, but could raise costs for consumers if it is prolonged.

“At the end of the day, the only one who’s going to end up paying the bill for this is the U.S. consumer, simple as that, because import costs are going to rise and those costs are going to be passed on to all the imported products,” he said.

More than 38 container vessels were waiting at anchor near U.S. ports by Tuesday, compared with just three on Sunday, according to Everstream Analytics.

—Additional reporting for Reuters by Gursimran Kaur, Nilutpal Timsina, Shivani Tanna and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru, David Shepardson in Washington, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, and Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk.

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Dozens of groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, Renewable Fuels Association and American Chemistry Council said “the time has come for the U.S. government to intervene and ensure port operations do not stop” in order to prevent damage to U.S. agriculture and the economy.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz raised concerns about the impact of a work stoppage, saying the U.S. “teeters on the brink of the first union strike among East and Gulf Coast ports since 1977.” He cited a JPMorgan analysis that projected a port strike could cost the U.S. economy $5 billion daily.

Negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group appear to be deadlocked over pay as the Sept. 30 contract expiration approaches.

The White House did not immediately comment on the letter.

“We are monitoring and assessing potential ways to address impacts to U.S. supply chains related to operations at our ports, if necessary,” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said Tuesday, adding officials encourage continued negotiations “toward an agreement that benefits all sides and prevents any disruption.”

President Joe Biden’s administration has said the president does not intend to invoke a federal law known as the Taft-Hartley Act to prevent a strike.

A threatened strike by 45,000 ILA-represented workers at three dozen affected ports, including New York and New Jersey, Houston and Savannah, Georgia, would send delays and costs cascading through U.S. supply chains.

Approximately 40 per cent of U.S. containerized agricultural exports move through East and Gulf Coast ports, the agriculture groups said.

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The House Republicans, including Representatives Elise Stefanik, Ashley Hinson and John Moolenaar, who chairs a select committee on China, asked the U.S. Agriculture Department and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in letters seen by Reuters to detail the administration’s efforts to address risks posed by aerosol dispensing drones and brief Congress by Sept. 30 and cited the large number of drones produced by Chinese-drone manufacturer DJI.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said operations resumed at 2 p.m. ET at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas. The closures had prompted alarm from railroads, the agriculture industry and some lawmakers over the economic impact to halted export trade.

CBP said it will “continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation.”

Ian Jefferies, CEO of the Association of American Railroads, praised the reopening. “These ill-advised closures were a blunt-force tool that did nothing to bolster law enforcement capacity,” he said. “With the crossings reopened, railroads are focused on closely partnering with CBP to maintain the secure, reliable service that customers deserve and our nation requires.”

Growers, representing U.S. corn, milk, rice and soybean producers, among others, this week estimated that every day the crossings were closed “almost 1 million bushels of grain exports are potentially lost along with export potential for many other agricultural products.”

The Biden administration on Monday closed the trade routes due to increased migrant crossings. The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended about 10,800 migrants at the southwest border on Monday, according to an internal agency report reviewed by Reuters, which several current and former officials said was near or at a single-day record high.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said Friday the government “insisted on the need to reopen border crossings as soon as possible to guarantee dynamic trade flows and enhance the economic relationship” between the U.S. and Mexico.

Mexico’s main farm lobby CNA expressed relief over the reopenings, saying “the lack of supplies in Mexico, caused by the closures, was affecting food production, raising costs and putting food security at risk in the country.”

The National Grain and Feed Association and the North America Export Grain Association welcomed the reopening. “Any closure of crossings into Mexico is unacceptable and significantly impacts the flow of grain and oilseeds for both human and livestock feed to one of the United States’ most important export markets and trading partners,” they said.

The CBP said on Friday that Eagle Pass vehicular processing remained suspended along with San Diego San Ysidro’s Pedestrian West operations. In addition, port of entry operations at Lukeville, Arizona, and Morely Gate in Nogales, Arizona remain suspended.

–Additional reporting for Reuters by Karl Plume, Kylie Madry and Cassandra Garrison.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received 380 reports alleging intermittent or complete loss of power steering assistance in 2013-2016 model year Ram 1500 pickup trucks, including reports of three crashes.

In March 2016, Fiat Chrysler Automotive, now known as Stellantis, recalled 440 vehicles to address a possible contamination of the electrical power steering unit. NHTSA said complaints indicated similar failures may be occurring in vehicles outside the recall scope.

NHTSA is opening a recall query “to determine if the scope of the recall mentioned above is correct or if another defect might exist.”

Stellantis said Tuesday the company is “fully cooperating with NHTSA on this investigation.”

Many complaints filed with NHTSA described expensive or serious safety issues or very long waits for repair parts. In January, one Florida driver said the steering wheel of a 2013 Ram 1500 locked and “would not turn left or right” and was quoted a price of more than $2,000 for parts.

Another driver was driving a 2014 Ram 1500 at 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) on a busy road in California in February when their steering wheel “seized and became immobile. Using tremendous force I was able to get the truck through traffic and to the side of the road.”

A complaint filed in March by a 2015 Ram 1500 driver said due to a power steering assist failure, “the contact drove into a ditch which caused minor damages to the front end of the vehicle.”

— David Shepardson is a Reuters correspondent covering U.S. auto sector and regulatory issues from Washington, D.C.

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The board, which oversees U.S. freight railroads, is imposing some requirements on the deal, which was agreed in 2021, including an “unprecedented seven-year oversight period along with extensive data-reporting requirements.”

The acquisition, which combines the sixth- and seventh-largest railroads operating in the U.S. by revenue, will create the first railroad providing a single-line service spanning Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. It is projected to add 800 new unionized operational jobs in the U.S. and will shorten the average length of trains by just under 20 per cent.

CP CEO Keith Creel said in a statement that the board’s decision “clearly recognizes the many benefits of this historic combination. As the STB found, it will stimulate new competition, create jobs, lead to new investment in our rail network, and drive economic growth.”

In the same statement, Kansas City Southern said the decision “is the catalyst for realizing the benefits of a North American railroad for all of our stakeholders.”

The decision is effective on April 14 and calls for reconsideration petitions to be filed by April 4. Calgary-based CP’s TSX-traded shares rose about six per cent to C$105.74. Kansas City Southern shares were transferred to a trust and the railroad has operated independently ahead of the board decision.

The STB said it expects the new single-line service will foster the growth of rail traffic and reduce emissions by shifting approximately 64,000 truckloads annually from North American roads to rail.

It also concluded that the deal will not increase safety risks in any meaningful way, an issue that has been raised in the wake of a recent Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio. It noted CP has had the best safety record of any large railroad over the last 15 years.

The STB also approved measures to address “potential environmental impacts of the transaction, such as increased noise,” and it will require the railroad to justify “rate increases over a certain level” on some interline movements.

The deal will also foster new U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak service opportunities, the board said.

The new direct service will facilitate the flow of grain from the U.S. Midwest to the Gulf Coast and Mexico, the movement of intermodal goods between Dallas and Chicago and trade in automotive parts, vehicles, and other goods between the U.S. and Mexico, the STB said.

The board can issue orders to enforce required environmental mitigation measures and address capacity and maintain fluidity in Houston, Chicago and other congested areas, “including preventing potential merger-caused delays and service disruptions of commuter service in the Chicago area.”

This transaction is “end-to-end,” which means there are little to no track redundancies or overlapping routes, and the board said the move will reduce travel time for traffic moving over the single-line service.

At least two U.S. grain grower groups on Wednesday panned the STB’s decision, saying the combination would decrease competition for the rail-reliant grain sector.

“U.S. rail industry consolidation has led to poorer, not improved, service for agricultural shippers,” Vince Peterson, president of U.S. Wheat Associates, said in a release.

“In addition, we see extreme disparity in rates for wheat shippers. Rail rates over the last decade have increased exponentially and rates for wheat are higher than rates for other commodities even with similar handling characteristics.”

The U.S. National Association of Wheat Growers’ (NAWG) CEO, Chandler Goude, said in the same release that the group “maintains our concerns that the merger of CP and KCS will impede competition in the rail market and increase rail rates.”

— David Shepardson reports on the U.S. transport sector for Reuters from Washington. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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The largest U.S. automaker said the recall covers various Cadillac CT4 and CT5; Buick Envision; Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles from the 2020 through 2023 model years.

The recall covers 740,000 U.S. vehicles and 85,000 in Canada.

GM said the body control module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air update to address the issue.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the vehicles do not comply with a U.S. federal vehicle safety standard and glare could reduce visibility and increase the risk of a crash.

The recall is an expansion of a recall GM announced in November for the sale issue. GM said it is not aware of any injuries or accidents related to the recall.

The recall was prompted after a GM engineer submitted a report about the issue in October prompting a company investigation.

— David Shepardson reports on the U.S. transport sector for Reuters from Washington, D.C.

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The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to approve a bill to impose a tentative contract deal reached in September on a dozen unions representing 115,000 workers. The House also separately voted to require seven days of paid sick leave for rail workers, a measure the White House has not endorsed.

“There is no substitute in the American transportation system for a functioning freight rail network,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNBC. “It wouldn’t just bring down our rail system, it would really shut down our economy.”

Buttigieg, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and White House legislative director Louisa Terrell were meeting with Senate Democrats on Thursday to try to convince them to move quickly.

Separate votes are expected this afternoon on the rail and sick leave bills as well as a separate proposal to extend the “cooling off” period before workers could go on strike, aides said.

Senator Bernie Sanders and others demanded a separate vote on the sick leave issue as a condition of agreeing to fast-track consideration of the rail contract vote. He denounced railroad companies for refusing to offer paid sick leave.

“They are maybe the worst case of corporate greed that I have seen,” Sanders said. “That is really barbaric in the year 2022 in America.”

Schumer said he wants to see paid sick leave included in the legislation.

“Senators are working morning, noon and night to reach an agreement for us to act on this measure ASAP,” Schumer said. “The Senate cannot leave until we get the job done.”

Workers could go on strike as soon as Dec. 9, but the impacts in the U.S. and beyond would be felt as soon as this weekend as railroads stop accepting hazardous materials shipments.

A rail strike could freeze almost 30 per cent of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, stoke already surging inflation and cost the U.S. economy as much as US$2 billion per day, and strand millions of passenger railroad Amtrak and commuter rail passengers.

Railroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce oppose amending the contract deal that was struck in September largely on the recommendations of an emergency board appointed by Biden. The American Association of Railroads said the sick leave proposal would “undermine bargaining and artificially add to contracts beyond the scope of the Biden-endorsed agreements.”

President Joe Biden on Monday praised the proposed contract that includes a 24 per cent compounded pay increase over five years and five annual US$1,000 lump-sum payments, and had asked Congress to impose the agreement without any modifications.

There are no paid short-term sick days under the tentative deal after unions asked for 15 and railroads settled on one personal day.

Eight of 12 unions have ratified the deal. But some labor leaders have criticized Biden for asking Congress to impose a contract that workers in four unions have rejected over its lack of paid sick leave.

The contracts cover workers at carriers including Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Kansas City Southern as well as the U.S. track of Canadian National Railway (CN).

— David Shepardson is a Reuters correspondent covering the U.S. transport sector from Washington, D.C.; additional reporting by Moira Warburton.

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