The US Department of Commerce Foreign Trade Zone Board recently added 1,500+ acres the port's Foreign Trade Zone No. 86. Added to FTZ No.86 were Boeing Realty Corporation, Cascadia South Prairie, Greenwater Corporate Park, Lakewood Industrial Park, Puyallup Industrial Park, Rainier Corporate, Randles Industrial Park, TransPacific Industrial Park, and Valley South Corporate Park.

The FTZ designation lets companies who operate on the properties to ship, store, manipulate and add value to imported goods while delaying or even eliminating payment of U.S. Customs duties. FTZs generate local employment and business revenue arising from international trade, while they boost international cargo volumes at the Port.

Port of Tacoma Commission President Ted Bottiger says extending FTZ status to the private properties included in this expansion provides a way for local workers and businesses to benefit from the international trade flowing through the Port. "We plan to work with these property owners and managers, as well as their tenants, to help them make the most of their FTZ designation," says Bottiger. The benefits of the designation, explains Bottiger, include:

·Improved cash flow management as a result of delaying payment of U.S. Customs duties and excise taxes;

·The ability to add value to goods using domestic and imported materials/components while paying U.S. Customs duties only on the value of imported materials/components; and

·The elimination of U.S. Customs duties and fees on goods that are re-exported.

The Port has scheduled an April seminar to help property owners, managers and tenants learn how to make the best use of FTZ status. "We want to have our properties FTZ-ready," said Dave Baker, Managing Director of Northwest Building Corporation, which owns two of the newly designated FTZ properties. "We would hate to lose a deal because we didn't have FTZ status.

Instant Insights /

Tacoma Foreign Trade Zone Set to Build on Expansive 2000

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