Distribution firms who import products or re-export imported products can receive benefits from the FTZ program.

What is a Foreign-Trade Zone?

"A foreign-trade zone is a restricted-access site, in or adjacent to a Customs port of entry, operated pursuant to public utility principles under the sponsorship of a corporation granted authority by the Board and under supervision of the Customs Service." Regulations of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (19 CFR Part 400)

FTZs are treated, for the purposes of the tariff laws and Customs entry procedures, as being outside the Customs Territory of the United States. Under FTZ procedures, foreign and domestic merchandise may be admitted into zones for operations such as; storage, exhibition, assembly, manufacture and processing, without being subject to formal Customs entry procedures (the payment of Customs duties or the payment of federal excise taxes).

When merchandise is removed from a foreign-trade zone, Customs duties may be eliminated if the goods are then exported from the United States. If the merchandise is formally entered into U.S. commerce, Customs duties and excise taxes are due at the time of transfer from the foreign-trade zone.

For merchandise that is manufactured in a foreign-trade zone with permission of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board, the importer may elect to pay Customs duty at the lower rate of either the finished product or its foreign components. In this manner, use of a foreign-trade zone can result in the reduction of Customs duty owed by companies that manufacture products in an FTZ.

For more information go to: www.naftz.org