So, why don't you get rid of the FTDI USB to UART converter altogether and knock off a few dollars worth of useless logic?
Simply change the AVR to a micro-controller with a native USB interface either from Microchip or Atmel. Its something I've used on endless projects and helps to reduce the cost substantially.
As we say over here: "if you want to get rid of rabies, simply kill the dog", i.e. solve the problem by removing it.