Business Benefits

The FTZ program helps U.S. based companies remain competitive in a global marketplace through deferral, reduction or even elimination of Customs duties on products admitted to the zone.

For a company to qualify for operation in an FTZ, it must:

Have a facility located in the United States.

Import parts, materials, or components for manufacturing.

Import finished goods or parts for distribution.

Ten Cost Saving Benefits for Your Company from Using a Foreign-Trade Zone:

1.	Imports may be admitted and held in a foreign-trade zone without paying U.S. Customs duties.
2.	FTZ users can pay the lower of two duty rates: on production components or on the final merchandise product that contains imported components.
3.	Customs duties are eliminated for merchandise exported from a zone.
4.	Duties are reduced or eliminated on materials scraped in the zone due to defect, damage, obsolescence or waste.
5.	Merchandise may be exported and returned to an FTZ without duty payment.
6.	Spare parts may be stored, returned, or destroyed without duty payment.
7.	Weekly entries allow 24/7 shipping with only 1 entry filed and one Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) filed per week.
8.	Duties are not owed on labor, overhead, or profit attributed to FTZ production operations.
9.	Quality control inspections can identify sub-standard goods to be destroyed or returned without duty payment.
10.	No duty is owed on in-bond, zone-to-zone transfer of FTZ merchandise.

FTZ operation will prove most useful to firms that:

Import products on which they pay U.S. Customs duties

Import large numbers of shipments (regardless of whether or not the goods are tarrifed are paid)

Export domestic products on which federal excise taxes are paid

Maintain large dollar value inventories subject to state and local ad valorem taxes

Additional Ways Your Company Can Benefit From Using a Foreign-Trade Zone

Country of Origin Marking and Labeling - No country-of-origin labels are required on merchandise admitted to the FTZ, saving a complicated procedure and up-front expense. If needed, the labels can be applied in the FTZ.

Transfer of Title - Title to merchandise may be transferred in the FTZ, as long as there is no "retail" sale. The global supplier can own it until it is shipped just-in-time to local manufacturers.

Quotas: U.S. quota restrictions do not apply to merchandise admitted to zones, although quotas will apply if and when the merchandise is subsequently entered into U.S. commerce. Merchandise subject to quota, with the permission of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board, may be substantially transformed in a FTZ to a non-quota article that may then be entered into U.S. Customs and Border Protection territory, free of quota restrictions. Quota merchandise may be stored in a FTZ so that when the quota opens, the merchandise may be immediately shipped into U.S. Customs and Border Protection territory.