Foreign Trade Zones

Our foreign trade specialist shares ways in which U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones serve as economic development tools and often mitigate changes in Customs and trade regulations—critical insight that every shipper should understand to remain globally competitive in 2024.

How more shippers are unlocking efficiency, avoiding fines and staying compliant with the help of global trade management (GTM) software.

A recent United States International Trade Commission report delves into the economic impact, benefits, and challenges related to FTZs in the U.S. This study is the first of its kind since the 1980s.

Due to mounting disruptions, free zones and economic zones are gaining in popularity all around the world—which is causing some confusion about the specifics of the U.S. Foreign Trade Zone program. Our FTZ consultant shares some of the basics and the overall benefits these zones can bring to your supply chain operations.

If your company is still not utilizing the FTZ program, now is a good time to consider how it can benefit your company and your local economy.

By utilizing foreign trade zones this year, U.S. shippers can save time, money and lower their risk window when doing business with manufacturers in Mexico and Canada.

With trade policy currently a hot political topic, the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones program plays an even more important role in promoting trade, investment, and job creation. Indeed, industry leaders say it’s a “show stealer” this year.

Softening the impact of tariffs by utilizing Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) has long been an attractive option for savvy shippers. But in today’s world of sudden changes in trade policies, the practice may need to be more widely embraced.

In a move that may augur a new global strategy for third party logistics (3PLs) parties, CEVA Global Logistics, LLC (CEVA) and IMS Worldwide, Inc. (IMSW) recently announced that they have entered into a Strategic Alliance to offer the benefits of Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) services to customers in the United States.

Erik Autor, president of the National Association of Free Trade Zones shares his insight on current state of NAFTA.

With new bilateral agreements and global e-commerce deals reconfiguring the global marketplace, the popularity of Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ) is not likely to diminish any time soon. In fact, there’s reason to believe that they will become even more popular once additional regulatory oversight is put in place.

Currently, there are 276 authorized FTZ across the United States. These zones allow importers and exporters to reduce, eliminate or defer duty payments on manufactured or stored goods prior to releasing them into domestic commerce or exporting them out of the U.S.