Importing goods in high volumes or with high values can be time-consuming and very challenging. Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ) were created to expedite the process and to encourage foreign commerce here in the US. They can help overcome some of the challenges.

So what exactly is a Foreign Trade Zone?

A Foreign Trade Zone or FTZ is a dedicated geographic area where foreign and domestic goods are considered outside the customs territory of the US for purposes of duty payment. For many companies, this can simplify the customs process and lower costs, tariffs, and taxes. The savings on entry fees alone can be quite significant.

What are the advantages of the FTZ program?

FTZs are designed to make importing cost-efficient, easier, and faster. If your company imports high-volume or high-value products that are worth more than 3 million dollars annually, or you receive over 500 shipments per year, go to GCFTZ.com for more information.

What are the benefits of the FTZ program?

There are so many benefits to an FTZ, but exact benefits can be unique to each company and industry. In Foreign Trade Zones 46 and 47, manufacturers, machinery and equipment companies, and oil refiners are using the FTZ program.  Manufacturing firms in the program can choose when the duty is applied with three options.

The duty may be applied:

• When products or parts are removed from the zone;
• It can be applied to the individual parts before assembly;
• It can be applied on the finished good.

For manufacturers and distributors, one big advantage of the FTZ program is deferring duty payments until goods are ready to be consumed in the United States. Duty reduction, elimination, and deferral are the most common benefits for those businesses. This helps you choose the best duty rate for your purposes. For more information and to see ten ways an FTZ can save your business money, go to GCFTZ.com. Companies involved in FTZs see added tax benefits, have no time constraints on storage, have easier direct delivery options, improved inventory control, duty deferral on imported production equipment, and much more.

What exactly can you do in an FTZ?

You can assemble, sample, manufacture, salvage, repackage, mix, test, relabel, store, process, manipulate, and destroy. So you really can do a lot. In 2022, 14 companies with more than 15,000 employees have established FTZ operations in our eight-county Cincinnati region served by Zones 46 and 47. Strong regional businesses make for a stronger region as a whole. Visit the website at GCFTZ.com to learn about the benefits of FTZs, use the savings calculator, and start your application.