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

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

The union says it has reached a tentative agreement on wages and will go back to work on Friday as talks continue until 15 January.

The action marked the first such shutdown in almost 50 years and threatened to wreak chaos amid the busy holiday shopping season and forthcoming presidential election.