ILM: Airport Included in Foreign Trade Zone Application

Sept. 20, 2016

The NC Foreign Trade Promotion Council and the NCDOT Foreign Trade Department successfully worked for years with US Department of Commerce for approval of an efficient tool to grow international business for Eastern North Carolina. The Foreign Trade Zone, FTZ #214 administrators were notified last week that the application to change the zone from a traditional model to the newer, more flexible Alternative Site Framework (ASF) model was approved by the US Foreign Trade Zone Board.  The approved application also included an expansion of the current zone boundaries with 3 new magnet sites: Radio Island, Craven County Industrial Park, and ILM International Airport.

The ASF is an organizational model that allows for individual companies to reap the benefits of being in the zone but the boundaries for activation are more flexible than previously structured, and the application process is streamlined and expedited. There are tax benefits for companies utilizing foreign trade zones that include:

  • No duties on imported goods that are later re-exported
  • Production-specific benefits – with case-by-case approval by the FTZ Board – that can include reduction of duties if a lower tariff rate applies to the finished product leaving the zone than the tariff rates that would have been applied on foreign components
  • Elimination of duties on waste, scrap and rejected or defective parts
  • Customs efficiencies including direct delivery and weekly entry

Former Rep. Rick Catlin, as founder and Chairman of the Foreign Trade Promotion Council (FTPC), was instrumental in getting the application through the US FTZ office and is excited about the potential for growth in eastern NC.  “FTZ #214 encompasses 22 eastern NC counties that can greatly benefit from this economic engine as it allows many more companies access to the tax advantages available, and it opens the world of import/export to North Carolina companies. Now it is available and the next step is to bring the resources together to grow NC businesses and connect companies to the FTZ. I am very encouraged by this approval and know that New Hanover County can benefit from this program”.  In addition to Catlin, Congressman David Rouzer supported the application at the federal level in order to bring economic opportunity to the district and was instrumental in getting the application through the US office.