The FTZ Corp of Southern Pennsylvania, grantee of Foreign Trade Zone 147, has recently been approved for the reorganization and expansion of the zone under the Alternative Site Framework (ASF).
The ASF takes the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) area from single buildings or parcels and overlays the FTZ over a large service area that includes all of Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, and York Counties in Pennsylvania, in and adjacent to the Harrisburg Customs and Border Protection port of entry.
Companies within these counties that have a need for FTZ status will no longer have to wait for the traditional process of request, review and approval of a subzone. Instead, they will enjoy an almost immediate extension of the FTZ benefits for a qualified user.
“We are very excited that the FTZ Board has approved our application,” said Jon Scott, President for FTZ Corporation of Southern Pennsylvania. “This new framework provides a great tool for economic development in the south central Pennsylvania region, and more specifically Greater Reading. Through the new streamlined alternative site framework, businesses can now quickly utilize zone benefits at their selected site instead of being limited to pre-designated areas.”
For U.S.-based companies involved in international trade, the Foreign Trade Zone Program provides a means of improving their competitive position. FTZs are secured areas located in or near U.S. Customs ports of entry, but legally considered to be outside the customs territory. The fundamental benefit offered by the program is the ability to defer, reduce or even eliminate customs duties on products admitted to the zone. Businesses should analyze the relevant facts and circumstances to determine and quantify the potential benefits of operating or using an FTZ.
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