Zoned for Opportunity

A Foreign Trade Zone is a designated site in the U.S., in or near a U.S. Customs port of entry, where merchandise is generally considered to be outside U.S. customs territory. Foreign and domestic merchandise may be admitted into zones for designated operations without being subject to formal Customs entry procedures. Within the FTZ, foreign goods are considered international commerce and are not subject to customs duties unless or until they enter the U.S. In addition, raw materials, parts, and components can enter duty-free. Goods can then be assembled, manufactured or processed – and the final product reexported – without paying customs duties.

An FTZ’s primary advantage is its ability to improve your company’s competitive position in our global economy. A foreign trade zone makes it possible for you to:

• Bring in product incrementally, thereby preserving cash flow and gaining interest savings
• Repair, salvage or clean a product for distribution
• Store and repack merchandise for export or domestic distribution
• Manufacture product from foreign and/or domestic parts

A subzone may be created off the FTZ at your facility and authorized when your operations cannot be accommodated in the immediate physical confines of the general-purpose zone.

FTZs commonly have a combination of foreign and domestic merchandise in the manufacturing and production operations.

Merchandise entering a zone may be:

• assembled
• tested/sampled
• relabeled
• manufactured (with FTZ board approval)
• stored
• salvaged
• processed
• repackaged
• destroyed
• mixed
• manipulated

Industries that commonly use FTZs include:

• Oil/Petroleum
• Manufacturing/assembly
• Machinery/equipment
• Consumer products
• Chemicals
• Plastic/rubber
• Petrochemicals