Foreign Trade Zone

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Control duties. Improve cash flow. Simplify imports.

Foreign Trade Zones, also known as Free Trade Zones, are designated areas within the United States where imported goods are treated as being outside of U.S. Customs territory. This allows businesses to store, handle, assemble, or manufacture products without the immediate payment of duties or taxes.

Duties are only applied when goods leave the zone and enter U.S. commerce. If the goods are exported or destroyed, no duties are owed. This creates a strategic opportunity for importers to defer, reduce, or even eliminate duty and tax costs, helping to improve cash flow and lower overall operational expenses.

At USECINTL, we support Foreign Trade Zone operations by helping businesses take full advantage of these benefits, enabling better cost management and improved supply chain efficiency.

Benefits to Our Customer

Our experts hold a wide variety of service offerings. Some of these include:

  • Duty Deferral: Pay Customs duties only when goods leave the FTZ and enter U.S. commerce.
  • Declaration document visibility globally
  • Duty Elimination: No duties if goods are exported or destroyed in the FTZ.
  • Lower Fees: Combine shipments into one weekly Customs entry Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) capped at $614.35/week, saving thousands annually.
  • Faster Processing: Streamlined Customs handling and quicker delivery.
  • Inventory Flexibility: Store, sort, or repackage goods without triggering duties.

Pharmaceutical Leveraged FTZ

Activity: Pharmaceutical company produces drug tablets from imported chemicals

Imported Chemicals: 6.5% duty rate

Drug Tablets: Duty-free

Set-up: 6 months with multiple agency application approvals.

Benefits: Inverted Tariff Relief (pay duty on either the imported chemicals or finished product, in this case, drug tablets)

Simplified Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Weekly Entry Procedures