Charlotte Regional Partnership Named Grantee for FTZ 57

The Charlotte Regional Partnership has become the grantee and administrator for Foreign Trade Zone 57. Although designated "Mecklenburg County," FTZ 57 extends beyond the county's borders, including sites in Alexander, Cabarrus and Catawba counties.

The N.C. Department of Commerce requested that the public/private economic development organization provide the zone's oversight, so there was more direct regional involvement. Although FTZ 57 is the oldest in the state, it was the only one of the six North Carolina foreign trade zones that wasn't under local control.

"Although we always have promoted the FTZ as one of our regional assets, as the zone's administrator, we can more directly market and grow the foreign trade zone, as we work with existing industry and recruit new businesses to Charlotte USA," said Ronnie Bryant, Charlotte Regional Partnership president and chief executive officer.

Foreign trade zones offer tax and duty advantages to the existing industry and serve as an incentive to attract companies. Since FTZs are legally outside U.S. Customs territory, merchandise from anywhere in the world may enter a foreign trade zone without a formal customs entry or the payment of customs duties or government excise taxes.

Foreign trade zones can be a building or just a room, but they must be within 90 miles of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entry. FTZ 57 includes 16 general purpose sites for public use, as well as two subzones that are company exclusive. Several additional sites are pending approval by the U.S. Foreign Trade Zones Board.

One Local Company Operates One of the Busiest FTZs in the US

World Warehouse and Distribution Executive Vice President Bill Glaude said the company has been told by local Customs and Border Protection officials that U.S. Foreign Trade Zone #54, which takes up 111,000 square feet of its Champlain facilities, is the most active Foreign Trade Zone in the United States.

The largest part of that activity involves a distribution project for Modelo Molson Imports L.P. Modelo Molson Imports was formed in 2008 to import, distribute and market the Modelo portfolio of beers throughout Canada.

World Warehouse has handled Modelo Molson's shipments to Canada's Maritime provinces and Ontario since late April 2008. The brands include Corona, Corona Light and Negra Modelo.

"We average 2,000 ocean containers a year in-bound," Glaude said. "That equates to about 3.5 million cases of beer."

That means approximately 2,000 container loads of Corona, Corona Light and Negra Modelo beer, about 3.5 million cases, passed through the Clinton County Foreign Trade Zone last year.

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