In a notice published in the Federal Register on June 3, the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board granted authority for subzone status for activity related to assembly of automotive suspension systems at the ZF Lemforder Corporation facility located in Spartanburg, SC (Subzone 7), as requested by the South Carolina Ports Authority, grantee of FTZ #38. The application was formally filed on April 30, 2008.
To read the full article, please visit Export Industry News.
Friday, June 5, 2009
International Business to Bring Growing Green Operation to Anderson, IN
A five-person team from Variety Global Business (VGB) Group spent the past three days in Anderson, IN where the company is considering a manufacturing and distribution center. At a time when much U.S. manufacturing has moved to Asia, John Lin, Founder of VGB, said he wants to bring his Chinese company to Anderson because of the skilled work force and to bring his product closer to his customers.
John Pitre, CEO of VGB’s “starchware” division, said the company has accelerated its timeline and could be operational in Anderson in nine months. VGB has also expanded the scope of the project from 120-140 jobs to around 450 jobs.
VGB produces “starchware,” an alternative to plastic foam products such as Styrofoam, made from corn starch. Pitre said tableware is the kind used at a picnic, while industrial starchware is used for food packaging. VGB claims its starchware is 97.7 percent compostable, and breaks down in just 120 days in a landfill.
Economic Development Director Linda Dawson said city officials put VGB in contact with creative banking experts and an architectural firm. The city also explained Anderson’s foreign trade zones as a designated area of the city that is like a foreign country, noting that most of the former automotive plants have been designated as FTZs. “Plant 9, for example, is not in an FTZ, but if we have an area already designated as an FTZ, we have the ability to swap properties.”
Officials from VGB haves expressed interest in the former General Motors Corp. Plant 20, off 38th Street near Scatterfield Road. But Plant 9, across from the former Guide Corp. property near 38th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, is also being considered for short-term operations.
For more information on the decision to manufacture out of Anderson, IN please visit The Herald Bulletin.
John Pitre, CEO of VGB’s “starchware” division, said the company has accelerated its timeline and could be operational in Anderson in nine months. VGB has also expanded the scope of the project from 120-140 jobs to around 450 jobs.
VGB produces “starchware,” an alternative to plastic foam products such as Styrofoam, made from corn starch. Pitre said tableware is the kind used at a picnic, while industrial starchware is used for food packaging. VGB claims its starchware is 97.7 percent compostable, and breaks down in just 120 days in a landfill.
Economic Development Director Linda Dawson said city officials put VGB in contact with creative banking experts and an architectural firm. The city also explained Anderson’s foreign trade zones as a designated area of the city that is like a foreign country, noting that most of the former automotive plants have been designated as FTZs. “Plant 9, for example, is not in an FTZ, but if we have an area already designated as an FTZ, we have the ability to swap properties.”
Officials from VGB haves expressed interest in the former General Motors Corp. Plant 20, off 38th Street near Scatterfield Road. But Plant 9, across from the former Guide Corp. property near 38th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, is also being considered for short-term operations.
For more information on the decision to manufacture out of Anderson, IN please visit The Herald Bulletin.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Enid City, Oklahoma Gets the OK for a FTZ
A foreign trade zone can be a significant economic development for the city of Enid because it can allow participating businesses to defer or eliminate taxes on imported items.
Matthew S. Weaver, director of marketing and business development for Oklahoma City Free Trade Zone, discussed the benefits during the Enid City Commission study session Tuesday night. Weaver said a foreign trade zone is a customs duty management program created by the federal government in 1934 as part of the New Deal. Its purpose is to expedite trade and help increase global competitiveness of U.S.-based companies.
FTZ 106, located at Will Rogers World Airport, is a grantee and can grant the status to Enid. The city’s plan is to establish the zone at Enid Woodring Regional Airport, to aid in the development of an industrial park there. Weaver said there are cash flow advantages, including lower inventory costs, deferred, reduced or eliminated customs duties (taxes), savings distribution, preferential duty rates and other advantages.
An item allowing the establishment of a foreign trade zone was approved during the regular commission meeting.
To read the full article, please visit Enid News.
Matthew S. Weaver, director of marketing and business development for Oklahoma City Free Trade Zone, discussed the benefits during the Enid City Commission study session Tuesday night. Weaver said a foreign trade zone is a customs duty management program created by the federal government in 1934 as part of the New Deal. Its purpose is to expedite trade and help increase global competitiveness of U.S.-based companies.
FTZ 106, located at Will Rogers World Airport, is a grantee and can grant the status to Enid. The city’s plan is to establish the zone at Enid Woodring Regional Airport, to aid in the development of an industrial park there. Weaver said there are cash flow advantages, including lower inventory costs, deferred, reduced or eliminated customs duties (taxes), savings distribution, preferential duty rates and other advantages.
An item allowing the establishment of a foreign trade zone was approved during the regular commission meeting.
To read the full article, please visit Enid News.
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.
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.
Friday, May 22, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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.
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.
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