The International Longshoremen's Association has postponed the port strike until January

The union representing thousands of dockworkers across the United States has agreed to suspend its strike while negotiations continue.

Members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) walked out Tuesday at 14 major ports along the East and Gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas.

The union said it has reached a tentative agreement on wages and will return to work from Friday until January 15, when it will return to bargaining to discuss “all other outstanding issues”.

The action marks the first such shutdown in nearly 50 years and threatens to cause chaos amid the busy holiday shopping season and the upcoming presidential election.

“Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the master contract will resume,” said a joint statement from the ILA and employers' group – the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).

Under the provisional deal, wages will rise by 62% over the next six years, BBC News understands.

But discussions will continue on a number of outstanding issues, including automation.

The union had called for a 77% wage increase, while USMX had previously offered a pay increase of about 50%.

The BBC has contacted the ILA and USMX for comment.

“The brief ILA strike … will surely rank as one of the most profitable 3 days in labor-management history,” said Patrick L. Anderson, CEO of business consultancy Anderson Economic Group.

“The ILA workers apparently received a 60% wage increase after they walked off the job for 3 days in a strike that did no serious damage to the US economy.”

The strike began on Tuesday after negotiations for a new six-year contract failed.

The walkout was the ILA's first major stoppage since 1977.

Affected ports include some of the nation's busiest, including New York, Georgia and Texas. They are estimated by experts to handle more than a third of US imports and exports.

US President Joe Biden applauded the tentative agreement in a statement on Thursday evening, saying it “represents important progress towards a stronger agreement”.

“I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a stronger contract after making so many sacrifices to keep our ports open during the pandemic,” Biden said.

“And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the U.S. Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong proposal on the table.”

Biden cited the need to keep ports open “to ensure the availability of critical supplies” to those affected by Hurricane Helen, which killed more than 200 people in the southeastern United States.

Traders welcomed the news that the stoppage had been lifted.

“The decision to end the current strike and allow East and Gulf Coast ports to reopen is good news for the nation's economy,” Matthew Shaw, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said in a statement.

Businesses braced for the prospect of a prolonged shutdown, which threatened to disrupt global trade and the US economy.

Some companies are stockpiling supplies in anticipation of a strike that is expected to hit in the summer.

Many consumers also panicked and stocked up on some supplies like baby formula and toilet paper.

Under the 2018 contract that expired Monday, dockworkers earned a base hourly wage of $20-$39, as well as other benefits, including royalties tied to container traffic.

ILA chief Harold Daggett demanded that the companies agree to raise wages by $5 an hour for each year of the contract.

The union, which has about 47,000 active members according to federal filings, is also seeking protections against automation.