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USMEF applauds West Coast port labor contract extension

Longshoremen at 29 U.S. West Coast ports have approved a three-year labor contract extension with the Pacific Maritime Association.

U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) president and CEO Phil Seng says that’s positive news for the U.S. meat industry.

“The last time this happened a few years ago, it took us almost a year to recover because it called into question our reliability,” Seng says. “I think everyone knows we have plenty of headwinds these days and this is just one deal we don’t want to have to contend with at this point in time.”

When contract negotiations between longshoremen and the ports stalled in late 2014, U.S. red meat exporters faced severe delays moving product through West Coast ports.