FTZ for Textile/Apparel/Footwear Distribution: Fear of the Unknown?

41 Pages·2012·2.81 MB·English

FTZ for Textile/Apparel/Footwear Distribution:
Fear of the Unknown?

Lesley Couch, AZS, LCB, CCS
Focus of Seminar

• Background
• Evaluating FTZ Savings Potential
• The Application Process
• The Activation Process
• Operations in FTZs

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BACKGROUND
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What is an FTZ?
• A foreign-trade zone is an area where
foreign and domestic merchandise or
commodities are considered to be in an
international commerce zone and not
within a U.S. Customs territory.
• It is a restricted-access site authorized by
the Foreign-Trade Zones Board. Upon
activation under regulations of the U.S.
Customs Service, FTZs are secure areas
under U.S. Customs supervision. These
zones are at or near U.S. Customs
ports of entry. Formal customs entry
procedures do not apply in these zones,
although FTZs are within the territory and
jurisdiction of the United States.
Establishment of FTZs
Foreign-Trade Zones were established:
 To encourage and expedite U.S. participation in
international trade
 To increase global competitiveness of U.S. based
companies
 To expedite exportation of domestic goods with
foreign and domestic content
 To defer payment of duties until goods enter into the
commerce of the U.S.
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What can you do with Goods in an FTZ?
Receive
Manufacture* Store
Mix with Domestic
Manipulate
Goods
Assemble Exhibit
Repack Relabel
Export Test
*with approval from
FTZ Board
Sample Destroy
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What is Prohibited in FTZs?
•Retail Sales

•Activity Outside Grant of
Authority

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FTZ Regulatory Sources
Foreign-Trade
Zones Act of CATAIR:
1934 Customs and
Operator’s
Administrative Trade
•19 U.S.C. 81a-81u FTZ Manual Procedures
•15 CFR Part 400 - decisions Automated
Manual
FTZ Regulations Interface
•19 CFR 146, Requirements
Customs
Regulations
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FINANCIAL
BENEFITS
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Zone Benefits
State
Inventory/
Property
Taxes
Consolidated
Entries into
Scrap
US
Commerce
Zone
Benefits
Duty Deferral Re-exporting
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