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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Crazy Ivan: Washington politics are craziest during a Presidential election year. But some of the strange moves this year make it hard for even an insider to follow. Consider these sharp course corrections in just the last month: Left Rudder Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, was threatened with loss of the gavel by members of his […]

China Front And Center: Developments, mostly negative ones, in the U.S. relationship with China continue to dominate the international trade conversation in Washington. The Biden administration announced increased tariff rates and broadened the list of items from China with punitive charges, including a 102% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. At the same time, a barrage of Chinese entities were added […]