FTZ’ine April 2020

Groundhog Day

It was fun at first. Staying home from work. Staying home from school. Teaching Grandma to Zoom. But now the days are starting to run together for the FTZine staff. No one has to go to work today . . . again. The kids are home from school today . . .again. There’s no toilet paper at the supermarket . . . again.

America now has the dubious distinction of leading the world . . . in COVID-19 cases. It has decimated cities (NYC, NO, SF) and industries (petroleum, cruise lines, airlines, restaurants) with ruthless abandon. International supply chains developed over decades were rapidly outpaced and outflanked by a microscopic virus.

Before you drive your pickup truck to the quarry though, don’t forget the U.S. is going to need some serious economic development work when this is over. We hope everyone will take care of themselves, family and friends over the next few difficult weeks, and keep an eye on what it is going to take to get this country moving again when the coast is clear. For Grantees, this is a great time for community outreach and putting a fine tune to your FTZ marketing – let businesses know you are there and how you can help. Operators, now is the time for cleaning up procedures and administrator training to get ready when the crush of air, ocean, and truck shipments begin. Piano lessons can wait. Be well.

Top Story: FTZ User Abbott Announces 5 Minute COVID-19 Test

Lake Bluff, Illinois based Abbott Laboratories received FDA Emergency Use Authorization last week for a coronavirus test that delivers positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes. The operator of FTZ #22F has been in business since its 1888 founding by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott, but this could become its highest profile product ever.

Medical experts have said such five-minute, point-of-care coronavirus tests could be "game-changing." The company expects the tests to be available this week and plans to ramp up manufacturing to deliver 50,000 test cartridges per day.

"I am pleased that the FDA authorized Abbott's point-of-care test yesterday. This is big news and will help get more of these tests out in the field rapidly," FDA Commissioner Steve Hahn said in a statement. "We know how important it is to get point-of-care tests out in the field quickly. These tests that can give results quickly can be a game changer in diagnosing COVID-19."

Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, called the development a "game-changer" and said it’s "very likely" that we’ll see additional approvals of point-of-care diagnostics, extending testing to doctor offices across the U.S.

The new test comes in the form of a small cartridge that fits in the palm of your hand, said John Frels, Abbott's vice president of research and development.

The test runs on the company's ID NOW platform, a 6.6-pound device about the size of a toaster. There are currently about 18,000 ID NOW instruments in the U.S.

Unlike high-throughput batch testing platforms that can run hundreds of tests at a time but take several hours, the ID NOW platform is a bench-top instrument used at physician offices and urgent care clinics. The platform is typically used to run tests for other respiratory illnesses, such as the flu, strep and RSV – and similarly uses samples from throat and nose swabs.

Two weeks ago, the FDA approved another coronavirus test from Abbott which is used for large batch testing at university and community hospitals. Between the two platforms, Abbott expects to produce about 5 million tests per month.

Tech Tip

Have you ever noticed that your Zone ID appears differently in different CBP filings? This is especially confusing when the requirements look the same in the CATAIR but seem to be different in the data passed to and from CBP.

The basic formatting of the FTZ ID on the entry summary (7501) and the admission (e214) appear to be the same on the surface. Each indicate the following components to the ID:

FTZ ID = 3 numeric

Subzone number or General Purpose Zone Acreage Site number = 2 Alpha-numeric

Site ID = 2 numeric

But, the entry summary CATAIR includes one small phrase after the Site ID that makes all the difference: “if applicable”. This means that the length of the zone ID on the entry summary can vary between five and seven characters. The zone ID on the e214 is always 7 characters, with “00” inserted in any component that is not applicable.

For a subzone that has no designated sites, the zone ID will appear with 5 characters on the 7501 (0260A) and will end with two zeros on the e214 (0260A00). A GPZ with no subzone will also vary (02610 vs. 0261000).

All of this may change soon. CBP recently published a new draft CATAIR for the e214. In this version, there is an increase in the number of characters in the zone ID from 7 to 9 characters, adding an extra character to the Subzone/GPZ ID portion of the number as well as the Site ID portion. There is no word from CBP if there are to be corresponding changes made to the Entry Summary. This change to the e214, along with other updates, is to be in a release currently in testing and planned to be put into production as early as June 2020. There are a lot of open questions about this new e214 program, so stay tuned to Tech Tips for more updates!

US Land Borders Close to Non-essential Traffic

The U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada were simultaneously closed last month to non-essential travel, including all tourism. The borders remain open for the transportation of goods and travel for work, in order to not further hamper trade and the supply chains between the countries.

“This is a global pandemic, so we need to act with agility and alacrity,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a news conference.

The border closure will not affect trade or essential travel for work, medical or educational reasons, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Friday at a press conference with President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and members of the White House coronavirus task force. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the border closure and other measures were part of the public health response to the coronavirus.

"There's a fundamental public health reason" for closing the northern and southern borders, Fauci said, noting other travel restrictions placed on travelers from China and Europe. "We cannot be preventing people from coming in from one area when they can actually go into the other." Several countries in Europe have closed their borders amid the spread of the virus, and the U.S. is currently barring all foreigners who have spent time in Iran, China and most of Europe. The European Union announced that it would close its external borders to nonresidents.

COVID Takes Aim At Brexit and USMCA

A bipartisan group of 19 senators is asking the Trump administration to hold off on its plan for the USMCA to go into effect on June 1st. In a letter to USTR Robert Lighthizer, Senate Finance Committee members requested a delay in implementation until all parties are ready to meet the higher standards of the NAFTA replacement.

“Even absent the pandemic, a June 1 deadline would be highly aggressive, and raises questions as to whether businesses have the information they need to adjust to the new rules and comply by that date,” wrote the senators, led by Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Meanwhile in London, the novel coronavirus has reached Brexit’s strongest supporter: Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Combined with the health care and economic crisis the virus is causing, the outbreak and his own infection with the disease will likely force the Prime Minister Boris Johnson to do something he’s vowed he’d never do — delay Britain’s upcoming exit from the European Union.

While the United Kingdom formally left the EU on Jan. 31, it remains a de facto member of the bloc until Dec. 31st because of an 11-month transition period designed to give both sides the time to negotiate a trade agreement. And Johnson — whose Conservative Party was elected in a landslide last December on his pledge to “Get Brexit done” — has been adamant that he won’t agree to an extension of the trade talks, and that continues to be the line coming out of 10 Downing Street.

But as the toll wreaked by the deadly virus mounts, he’s under growing pressure to agree to extend the deadline, and many political observers predict he’ll soon relent.

FTZ Board Activity

Puma Energy Caribe, LLC received approval for the expansion of subzone 7F in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. MORE
Fisher Footwear, LLC received approval for subzone status for its new facility as subzone 44L in Cranbury, New Jersey. MORE
Flextronics America, LLC received the authorization of production activity for automated data processing machines within FTZ 183 in Austin, Texas. MORE
SICK Product & Competence Center Americas, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for safety and tracking systems, safety light curtains, and connector assemblies within FTZ 119 in Savage, Minnesota. MORE
Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation received a grant of authority establishing FTZ 298 under the Alternative Site Framework. The new zone has a service area of Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Jefferson County, Colorado. MORE
Walgreen Co. received approval for subzone status for its new facility as subzone 31D in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. MORE
Frank's International, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for line pipe with tubular joints within FTZ 124 in New Iberia and Lafayette, Louisiana. MORE
UniCarriers Americas Corporation submitted a notification of proposed production activity for forklift engines and assemblies within FTZ 176 in Marengo, Illinois. MORE
Lake Charles LNG Export Company, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for liquified natural gas processing within FTZ 87 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. MORE
Packard Pipe Terminals, LLC received approval for subzone status for its new facility as subzone 2M in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. MORE
Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations, LLC received the authorization of production activity for passenger motor vehicles within FTZ 134 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. MORE
Offshore Energy Services, Inc. submitted a notification of proposed production activity for line pipe with weld-on housings and connectors within FTZ 124 in Broussard, Louisiana. MORE
LLFlex, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for aluminum foil paper laminate, foil-backed paperboard, coated paper, coated paperboard, and cable wrap within FTZ 230 in High Point, North Carolina. MORE
PRO-PIPE USA, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for high-density polyethylene pipe within FTZ 106 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. MORE
Zoetis, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for pharmaceutical products within FTZ 43 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. MORE
Port Arthur LNG, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for liquified natural gas processing within FTZ 116 in Port Arthur, Texas. MORE
Traxys Cometals USA, LLC submitted a notification of proposed production activity for manganese and aluminum alloying agents within FTZ 158 in Burnsville, Mississippi. MORE
ISK Biosciences Corporation submitted a notification of proposed production activity for agricultural chemicals within FTZ 77 in Memphis, Tennessee. MORE
Frank's International, LLC received approval for subzone status for its new facility as subzone 124U in New Iberia and Lafayette, Louisiana. MORE
Tesla, Inc. received authorization of production activity for additional electric passenger vehicle components within FTZ 18 in Fremont, Livermore, and Oakland, California. MORE

Groundhog Day

– It was fun at first. Staying home from work. Staying home from school. Teaching Grandma to Zoom. But now the days are starting to run together for the FTZine staff. No one has to go to work today . . . again. The kids are home from school today . . .again. There’s no toilet paper at the supermarket . . . again.