Foreign-Trade Zone #35

PhilaPort is the grantee of FTZ #35 which covers Southeastern Pennsylvania.

What is an FTZ?

A Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) is a duty-free, quota-free, secured area in a designated customs “port of entry,” considered outside U.S. Customs territory. FTZs were created to neutralize negative U.S. tariff impact on products used by manufactures operating in the United States and to keep U.S. businesses competitive with businesses operating offshore or overseas. Though the benefits of operating in a FTZ vary, they are substantial, and are certainly worth investigating.

Within a zone, foreign goods can be brought into the United States without formal customs entry for warehousing, assembly, manufacture, display, destruction or other processing. Duty payments can be deferred, reduced or eliminated when an FTZ is utilized.

General Purpose Zone

A General Purpose Zone normally has indoor and outdoor storage space used by a number of companies.

Sub-Zone

Sub-zones, on the other hand, can be established for individual companies conforming with the regulations of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act. Savings on duty and other costs can be significant if imports are modified within the zone. Companies wishing to establish a sub-zone must submit, together with PhilaPort, an application to the FTZ Board in Washington, D.C.

Foreign-Trade Zones Allow You To

  • Import and store goods duty-free for an indefinite period
  • Process imported goods to reduce duties
  • Import merchandise subject to quota or high rate of duty for eventual re-export
  • Eliminate duties on re-exported foreign merchandise
  • Destroy or re-export defective goods and waste materials without paying duties
  • Lower inventory costs
  • Hold goods in excess of a quota until the next quota period
  1. Reduces Cash Flow
  2. Elimination of Merchandise Processing Fee for Cargo Exported From Zone
  3. Defers Harbor Maintenance Fee
  4. Eliminates U.S. Customs Duty Payments for Exported Merchandise
  5. Reduces or Eliminates Custom Duties for Defective, Damaged, Obsolete, Waste & Scrap
  6. Inverted Custom Duty Savings
  7. Non-Dutiability of Labor, Overhead and Profit
  8. Allows for Duty Avoidance for International Returns
  9. Duty Elimination for Unused Spare Parts
  10. Store to Defer U.S. Quota
  11. Add Value to Product to Avoid U.S. Quota
  12. Simplification of Import/Export Procedures
  13. Quality Control
  14. Eliminate Country-of-Origin Marking/Labeling Requirements
  15. Additional Security
  16. Inventory Control
    Merchandise in an FTZ Pays no Duty
  17. Exempt Inventory Taxes
  18. Added Savings for 806/807 Program
  19. Entireties Provision
  20. Avoidance of Duty for Exhibited Merchandise
  21. Reduced Storage Insurance Costs
  22. Reduced Cargo Shipped Insurance Costs
  23. Allowance of Zone-To-Zone Transfer
  24. Temporary Removal Procedure
  25. Antidumping/Countervailing Duties
  26. Duty-Free Retail Containers
  27. Potential Exemption of Compliance with Federal Laws
  28. Enterprise Zone Coordination
  29. Generalized System of Preferences Duty-Free Status
  30. Transfer of Title
  31. Utilization of General Accepted Accounting Systems for Inventory Control
  32. Flexibility for Changing Regulations
  33. Stages Duty Reductions
  34. Potential Duty Reduction for Products of Communist Countries

For questions or to learn more about FTZ #35,

Contact:

Devin Toughill
dtoughill@philaport.com
Project & Foreign Trade Analyst
(215) 426-2600