NAFTZ’s advocacy work on Capitol Hill is continuing at a strong pace this summer, with a particular focus on recruiting additional House members to join the new U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone Caucus and strengthening relationships with congressional offices that represent U.S. FTZ communities across the country.

Over the past two weeks, NAFTZ has held a series of meetings with House offices from both parties—and one message has been especially encouraging: many congressional staffers already know the U.S. FTZ program and understand its importance in their districts.

That familiarity did not happen by accident. It reflects the work NAFTZ members have done to tell the U.S. FTZ story directly to policymakers.

Many of the offices we are meeting with now also met with NAFTZ members during our Legislative Summit in Washington this past February. In fact, this week’s schedule included follow-up conversations with staff for Representatives Mike Levin (D-CA), Ron Estes (R-KS), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), James Comer (R-KY), Christopher Deluzio (D-PA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and others. We also met with offices represented on committees including Ways and Means, Appropriations, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Homeland Security.

Those prior member meetings give us an important foundation for today’s conversations. As we return to these offices to discuss the U.S. FTZ Caucus and other advocacy priorities, we are able to remind congressional staff of the companies and organizations that participate in the U.S. FTZ program in their districts—and, importantly, the stories NAFTZ members shared about the program’s role in supporting their operations, employees, supply chains, investment, and local economies.

That is why member participation is so critical.

Facts and policy arguments matter, but congressional offices also need to understand what the U.S. FTZ program means at home. A company explaining how the program affects a manufacturing decision, a grantee describing the businesses and workers supported in its community, or a U.S. FTZ professional explaining how federal policy plays out in day-to-day operations gives policymakers a tangible connection to the program.

We are carrying those stories forward as we ask additional Representatives to participate in the U.S. FTZ Caucus. The Caucus provides an opportunity to build greater awareness of the program in Congress and to create a bipartisan group of lawmakers interested in the policies affecting U.S. FTZs and the businesses and communities they serve.

We are also working toward the Caucus’s first meeting. We do not yet have a confirmed date, but we are targeting September 23, 2026, or another day that week. As soon as the schedule is finalized, NAFTZ will share an announcement with members.

And now is a good time to begin thinking about the next opportunity to bring your U.S. FTZ story directly to Washington.

Save the date for the 2027 NAFTZ DC Summit, February 22–24 in Washington, D.C. Formerly known as the Legislative Summit, the DC Summit will combine policy and agency programming with advocacy preparation and coordinated Capitol Hill meetings. Congressional visits are scheduled for Wednesday, February 24.

The meetings we are having today demonstrate the lasting value of those visits. Members who came to Washington in February helped establish relationships and educate offices that we can now build upon throughout the year.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in NAFTZ advocacy efforts. Your involvement gives us something no fact sheet can replace: real examples of what the U.S. FTZ program means to American companies, workers, supply chains, and communities. We look forward to continuing to tell that story together.