Washington DC - Officials from President Joe Biden’s administration are monitoring labor talks but not trying to broker a labor deal to avert an Oct. 1 strike at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports that handle roughly half of the country’s ocean imports, administration officials said recently.

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.

A threatened strike by 45,000 ILA-represented workers at three dozen affected ports . . .