Onsite Foreign Trade Zone Offers Advantage

Foreign Trade Zone No. 83, located at the Port of Huntsville, includes the Jetplex Industrial Park and the Mallard Fox Creek Industrial Park, as well as the Port in Decatur, AL. Operated by the Huntsville Foreign Trade Zone Corporation, this service-plus entity provides technical expertise on regulatory Customs issues, as well as money savings from duty exemptions. Launched by the federal government in the 1930’s, the Foreign Trade Zone program offers a host of benefits to companies operating in the United States, yet the top advantage continues to be money.

Foreign Trade Zones are areas within the United States that the government considers outside the United States – or at least outside U.S. Customs territory. The result is that merchandise may be imported into a zone without formal Customs entry or import duties. Three major monetary benefits, all related to import duties, are:

1. Duty deferral – Duty is not payable to the U.S. government until the merchandise leaves the Foreign Trade Zone and enters U.S. commerce.

2. Duty elimination – Merchandise is admitted into a Foreign Trade Zone where it is stored or used in a manufacturing process and then exported from the Foreign Trade Zone.

3. Duty reduction – Often times, component parts command a higher duty rate than a finished product. Thus, manufacturers can choose whether to pay the duty on the imported components or the finished products when they enter the goods into the United States. In some cases, the lower duty rate is actually zero.

For more information on the Foreign Trade Zone No. 83 or for information on how to obtain a free feasibility study, contact Louise Stickley at 256-772-3105 or via e-mail at Louisestickley@Ftzcorp.com.