Successful U.S. FTZ Advocacy in Washington D.C.!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Legislative Summit and Hill Visits in February!  The event, and especially the record number of participants meeting with Congressional offices, was a fantastic opportunity for us to share how U.S. FTZs are integral to the U.S. economy and the administration’s goals of encouraging U.S. manufacturing and domestic sourcing.

Some of the topics addressed in our Hill Visits included:

• CBP Resources: NAFTZ urges Congress to directly appropriate funding to CBP for necessary resources and personnel to support the U.S. FTZ program so that it may fulfill its economic potential as originally envisioned. Absence of dedicated funding combined with overall existing deficits have resulted in systemic educational and operational gaps that are eroding the U.S. FTZ program.
• Exiting Inventory: NAFTZ requests that existing inventory in U.S. FTZs receive equitable treatment alongside other U.S. importers if trade remedy tariff rates are reduced or eliminated. Failure to do so undermines the fundamental purpose of U.S. FTZs, and the companies and the American jobs they provide.
• De minimis Parity: NAFTZ urges Congress and the Administration to support U.S. Investment and American jobs by eliminating the incentive created by de minimis entry to move distribution operations abroad. This can be achieved by allowing U.S. FTZs to utilize de minimis in whatever capacity it exists going forward. In fact, U.S. FTZs stand ready to partner in de minimis reform efforts, as they are safe and secure facilities that already provide CBP comprehensive data elements.
• USMCA:  With USMCA review on the horizon, NAFTZ asks Congress to help ensure the Administration considers input from the U.S. FTZ community in formulating its policy negotiation positions, specifically to address the disadvantage U.S. FTZ manufacturers face compared to their Canadian and Mexican counterparts.

We received a lot of questions from offices about the impact of tariffs on U.S. businesses.  It was certainly a timely time to be on The Hill!

If anyone is interested in getting copies of the leave behind materials used in our meetings, which includes information about U.S. FTZs and the advocacy agenda of NAFTZ, just let me know at mirmen@naftz.org.