It’s hard to believe it’s already November! Didn’t we just leave New Orleans and Hurricane Francine? As the year quickly progresses, we’re in the midst of membership renewals and preparing for the first quarter of 2025.

With the election results behind us, the future, especially in advocacy, remains uncertain. For an update on NAFTZ’s advocacy efforts, be sure to read Melissa Irmen’s article in this edition of The Zones Report.

In these times, your NAFTZ membership is more vital than ever. We are dedicated to addressing issues that may affect our members, their zones, and the U.S. FTZ program. Renewing your membership now will help you stay informed about the changes to come in the year ahead.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue offering webinars on relevant FTZ topics in 2025, including five scheduled for December 2024. In February, we’ll co-locate the Fundamentals of FTZs course in Washington, DC, with the Legislative Summit. To improve the learning experience, we’ve split the course into two sessions—Monday afternoon, February 24th, and Tuesday morning, February 25th. We encourage Fundamentals attendees to stay for Hill Visits on Wednesday, February 26th. For those with newer staff, the Fundamentals course will provide a solid FTZ foundation and the opportunity to earn the Certified Zone Specialist (CZS) designation in partnership with NCBFAA’s NEI.

This year’s Legislative Summit has an exciting new feature - a Capitol Hill tour led by Congressional staffers.  Certainly a unique and memorable opportunity for Legislative and Fundamentals participants alike. Due to security requirements, registration for Fundamentals or Legislative and the tour is required by January 10^th for the Capitol Tour. The Legislative Summit agenda includes discussions on U.S. trade policy, updates from the FTZ Board and CBP, tips for engaging with Congressional staff, and much more.  It will be a day full of relevant information that you’ll be able to take back home and apply straight away.

2025 is only a few weeks away, so be sure to renew your NAFTZ membership, register for the Legislative Summit, and encourage newer FTZ colleagues to sign up for Fundamentals. Also, be sure to mark your calendars and save the dates for the Spring Seminar in Savannah in May (18^th-20^th) and the Annual Conference in Kansas City in September (14^th – 17^th).