US PRESIDENT-elect Donald Trump met with leaders of the International Longshoremen's Association(ILA) Harold Daggett and Dennis

Daggett where he expressed support for the union's stand against automation,reports Rotterdam's WorldCargo News.

"Foreign companies have made a fortune in the US by giving them access to our markets. They shouldn't be looking for every last penny

knowing how many families are hurt," Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting.

There has been a ot of discussion having to do with automation on United States docks," he said.

I've studied automation and know just about everything there is to know about it. The amount of money saved is nowhere near the

distress, hurt and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.

ILA talks with United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employers,at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach broke off over management's desire for

automation and semi-automation in its contract proposals.

Talks collapsed when USMX proposed expanding the use of semi-automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs)".

Fears of another potential strike have kept frontloading at elevated levels at US container ports with the National Retail Federation

forecasting another surge in volumes this spring.

I hope this strong support from President Trump will encourage USMX to remove any language on automated or semi-automated

equipment in their proposals moving forward, and we can get a new Master Contract without any disruptions," said Mr Daggett.