The Foreign-Trade Zine is the eMagazine of the Foreign-Trade Zone community. Each month, we cover local, national, and international news that affects FTZ operators, users, and Grantees. We also catalog Federal Register notices published by the Department of Commerce so you can keep abreast of the activity in the program across the country. Ready to get started? Send an email with the subject line “Subscribe” to FTZine@iscm.co.
April 3, 2024
Still Home Of The Brave: This month’s international trade news is consumed by the instant and future implications of the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. While the immediate implication for trade was the complete shutdown of container, bulk, and RoRo shipments into a major east coast terminal, it seems likely that ports around the country, and […]
March 4, 2024
The Name Is Bond: Customs Bond. FTZ bonds are not usually a newsworthy subject, but this month they are. CBP published a “A Guide For The Public” on how FTZ Customs bond amounts will be set. The changes will be important for new and existing FTZ operators, and Grantees will want to take note because questions are sure to come […]
January 31, 2024
The Race Narrows: A lot happened in the race for the Presidency last month. And those events are having a significant impact on trade already. At least three Republican hopefuls dropped out of the race, and the final challenger to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination has not yet garnered enough votes in a state primary to create a contest. […]
January 4, 2024
Welcome Back: Happy New Year! The FTZine staff hopes everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday break. We start the new year with some cleanup left over from 2023. There are still two wars to deal with, each with an expanding impact on ocean vessel traffic. Relations with China remain at a very low point with the possibility that a […]
November 30, 2023
Not Just Another Joe In Washington: The majorities in the House and Senate enjoy only the slimmest of margins. So it is big news in Washington when a Representative or Senator in a competitive district announce they are retiring. Especially when they announce they are retiring to run for President of the United States. Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West […]
October 31, 2023
Didn’t See That Coming: October was a month of surprises. In the waning twilight of the last fiscal year, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy reached a deal with Democrats for a temporary spending measure to just barely avert a government shutdown. Three days later he was voted out of the job for that effort — a first in U.S. […]
October 2, 2023
Back In Business: Bet you didn’t think that was going to happen. With only hours left before Uncle Sam’s spending authority expired, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy reached a deal with Democrats to keep the government in business for six more weeks. Still no federal budget, and more negotiation will be needed before the Thanksgiving holiday to avoid a […]
August 30, 2023
Summer Heat Wilts Trade: August is vacation month here in DC. Congress adjourned at the end of July and promptly left town; the Senate will resume normal business after Labor Day; the House a week later. That made it easy for August weather to have a larger impact on trade than policy changes in your Nation’s Capital. Hurricanes on both […]
July 31, 2023
FTZs Dodge A Bullet: It is a hot one in your Nation’s Capital, but temperatures have dropped a little since UPS worked out a tentative agreement to avert a strike of its drivers. That strike could otherwise have started today, but instead we have two major labor deals in the last two months. The FTZine also hears that the Canadian […]
June 29, 2023
Done Deal: FTZ users and operators cheered the news last month of a tentative contract between the ILWU and PMA to cover U.S. West Coast port workers. Ratification by the membership is still required, and is expected in late July. A yes vote, combined with other global events, will start to reorient supply chains as west coast unloading becomes a […]
May 31, 2023
Madam Secretary: The FTZ industry is breathing easier this month. The U.S. Department of Commerce formally announced the appointment of Elizabeth Whiteman as Executive Secretary of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board. That means there is an experienced hand at the helm of this evolving program as it prepares to enter its ninth decade of fostering U.S. employment growth through international trade. […]
May 2, 2023
Mixed Signals For FTZs The month of April was a mixture of good and not-as-good news for international traders. The ILWU announced that they reached agreement on more key issues with the PMA, which is an improvement over the work stoppages we reported to you in April’s FTZ’ine. No west coast contract yet though. U.S. Customs had dramatic attendance at […]
