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.

FTZ Board Grants Michelin North American Authority for FTZ #50 Subzone Status

In a notice published in the Federal Register on May 20, the Foreign-Trade Zones Board granted authority for subzone status for activity related to tire warehousing and distribution at the Michelin North America, Inc. facility located in San Bernardino, California, as requested by the Board of Harbor Commissioners of the Port of Long Beach, grantee of FTZ #50. The application was formally filed on May 28, 2008.

The FTZ Board adopted the findings and recommendations of the examiner's report and found that the requirements of the FTZ Act and the board's regulations were satisfied and that approval of the application was in the public interest. The subzone status is subject to the FTZ Act and the board's regulations.

To view this article, please visit Export Industry News.

Expansion Sought for Louisiana's FTZ #124

An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board by the Port of South Louisiana, grantee of FTZ #124, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the barite milling facility of Excalibur Minerals LLC, located in New Iberia, Louisiana. It was formally filed on May 6, 2009.

The Excalibur facility is used for activities related to the milling (heating, grinding, crushing), storage and distribution of ground barite, primarily for the US market. The material that would be purchased from abroad is raw barite, dutiable at $1.25 per metric ton.

FTZ procedures could excempt the company from customs duty payments on the foreign component used in export production. The company anticipates that less than 1% of the plant's shipments will be exported. On its domestic sales, Excalibur would be able to choose the duty rate during customs entry procedures that applies to the ground barite (duty free) for the foreign input noted above. FTZ designation would further allow Excalibur to realize logistical benefits through the use of weekly customs entry procedures, as well as savings from the elimination of duties on materials that become scrap/waste during manufacturing. The application indicates that the FTZ-related savings would help improve the facility's international competitiveness.

To read more, please visit Import Industry News.

GM Plans to Export Cars from China to the US

General Motors (GM) is planning to build cars in China and import them into the United States, a strategy that could trigger further job losses and union anger in the US. This plan to shift a greater proportion of the struggling car maker's production overseas is still being negotiated with US politicians, who have already lent GM $15.4 billion in order to keep it afloat and safeguard its 90,000 US workers.

However, a spokesman for GM in Shanghai said it was "only a matter of time" before vehicles made in China are imported into the company's home market, in another blow to the US car industry. After losing $6 billion in the first quarter, GM has slashed its global production by 900,000 vehicles. Around 13 assembly plants will be affected by shutdowns in the US. The company have a June 1 deadline to complete a restructuring or follow Chrysler into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

To read more, please visit the Telegraph.

FTZs Help Companies Save Millions During Touch Economic Times

While no one likes difficult and tough economic down cycles, periods like the one we're in now serve the useful purpose of helping companies increase their focus on business process improvement--for example, by exposing inadequate global trade processes in order to improve them. Global trade, despite the current downturn, is in a long-term growth cycle. Combined U.S. imports and exports increased from under $100 billion in 1968 to nearly $3.5 trillion dollars in 2008--with almost half that total growth occurring in the last decade.

Given this reality, it's critical that business executives and global trade directors leverage current economic challenges to create fast and significant international trade process improvements, carefully investing limited capital in those areas where it can get the biggest bang for the buck. One excellent way to do this is by taking advantage of the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) program. “Foreign-Trade Zones can save U.S. importers millions of dollars and will often improve the speed of the supply chain,” explains Tommy Berry, President and CEO of PointTrade Services.

To read the full article, visit the Utah Pulse.

Approval for Expansion of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC

The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, grantee of FTZ 222, has requested authority on behalf of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA), LLC to expand the scope of manufacturing authority (additional engine capacity) conducted under zone procedures within Subzone 222A at the HMMA facility in Montgomery, Alabama.

The application to expand the scope of the manufacturing authority under zone procedures is approved, subject to the Foreign-Trade Zones Act and the Foreign-Trade Zone Board.

To read the full article, please visit Trading Markets.

Reorganization and Expansion Sought for Virginia's FTZ-20

An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board by the Virginia Port Authority, grantee of FTZ #20, requesting authority to reorganize and expand the zone project within the Norfolk Customs and Border Protection port of entry. The application was submitted pursuant to the provisions of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act and the regulations of the Board. The zone project consists of eighteen sites in the Hampton Roads area, with an overall increase of 639 acres in the total zone space. The sites will provide warehousing and distribution services to area businesses. No specific manufacturing authority is being requested at this time.

To read the full article, please visit Import Industry News.