Happy New Year! – The FTZ’ine staff hopes everyone enjoyed a safe, healthy, and happy New Year. A surprise winter storm arrived this week just in time to close DC schools, offices, and your federal government before anyone could put 2022 to the test. The town looks pretty in white though, as you can see from the banner photo. Speaking […]

Omigoodness Another Variant – The World Health Organization announced a new “variant of concern” last week, right as America was preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving. It felt like déjà vu all over again. Britain responded immediately to the announcement by restricting flights from 6 African countries, and EU leaders recommended the same measure for its members. Those moves sparked fears of […]

Prepare For Air – It was always faster. But it was never cheaper. With the current multiplier on container rates, plus the now customary demurrage and detention charges, on top of new terminal fees just going into effect, it may now be less expensive to ship your merchandise by air than by ocean. The G-20 meeting in Rome this past […]

Happy New Year! – Happy New Government Fiscal Year that is. FY 2022 starts today and while it does not have a budget, it does have temporary funding approved just hours ago by both chambers of Congress and the President. That postpones concerns of a government shutdown . . . until December 3rd when the new spending authorization will expire. […]

16 Years To The Day: Its an eerie anniversary. Category 4 Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana’s Gulf Coast on Sunday, exactly 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina did the same. The financial impact of this week’s massive storm is expected to be less severe than Katrina, thanks in part to a lower storm surge. Also credit New Orleans’ […]

Things Could Get Bumpy Again. . . . The August peak for trans-Pacific Ocean freight is now upon us, but transportation lanes never fully recovered from their pandemic-induced woes. That means longer wait times and higher prices may be in the future and spot rates are already at multiples of pandemic and pre-pandemic pricing. Floods in Germany and China exacerbated […]

What’s Bugging Washington? Brood X (pronounced “Brood 10”) has taken over your Nation’s Capital.  There are 15 broods of periodical cicadas in the United States, and this one is now in every corner of the city after 17 years of hibernation. Thinking of riding your motorcycle into DC for the July 4th celebration?  The FTZine staff recommends a full face […]

Infrastructure Takes Center Stage – After a bruising battle that scuttled the first version of a $2T infrastructure proposal, the Biden Administration pivoted directly to a new federal budget, keeping its focus firmly on the health of the U.S. economy.  With such attention to organizing federal spending to restart growth, little room is available for issues related to international commerce.  […]

Lots Of Trade Last Month. Trade Policy, Not So Much – New USTR Catherine Tai used her first official speech last month to discuss . . . climate change, and has just been assigned the task of reviewing intellectual property rules that restrict wider manufacture of vaccines developed in the United States.  That is a reflection of the lack of […]