Turkey Sees Continued Growth in Shipbuilding

Foreign Trade Minister Kürşat Tüzmen has said Turkey will continue to grow in the shipbuilding industry, improving its standing as the third largest yacht builder in the world and eighth in shipbuilding.

Speaking Friday in Kocaeli Tüzmen said shipbuilding in Turkey is primarily supported by free trade zones (FTZs) that currently provide jobs to some 50,000 workers. Tüzmen was in the Kocaeli Free Trade Zone (KOBSTAŞ) to participate in a ceremony to deliver to Saudi officials the luxury yacht Nourah of Riyadh (Riyadh's Splendor), built for Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud by Turkish-Lebanese yacht builder Yachtley Gemi Yapım A.Ş.

Underlining that each FTZ has become specialized in certain areas, the minister said FTZs in Kocaeli, Antalya and Adana have concentrated on shipbuilding. "We thank all our entrepreneurs who have contributed to the development of free trade zones," he added.

To read the full article, visit Today's Zaman.

FTZB Receives Application to Expand Activity in Illinois Zone

The Foreign-Trade Zones Board has received an application from the Tri-City Regional Port District, grantee of FTZ 31, requesting authority on behalf of WRB Refining LLC to expand the scope of manufacturing activity conducted under zone procedures within Subzone 31B at the WRB oil refinery complex at sites in Madison County, Ill. Comments on this application are due by May 19.

The refinery is undergoing an expansion that will add units and upgrade existing units within the subzone boundaries and is expected to expand crude production capacity up to 380,000 barrels per day. Zone procedures would exempt the increased production from customs duty payments on the foreign products used in its exports. On domestic sales of the increased production the company would be able to choose the duty rates for certain petrochemical feedstocks (zero) by admitting foreign crude oil in non-privileged foreign status.

To view this article, visit WorldTrade/Interactive at http://www.strtrade.com/wti/wti.asp?pub=0&story=30574&date=3%2F20%2F2009&company=

Salt Lake City Foreign-Trade Zone Receives Reorganization Approval From U.S. Commerce Department

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker announced today that Salt Lake City has received approval to reorganize its Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) from the Foreign-Trade Zones Board of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Salt Lake City's zone project is designated FTZ #30.

"This is great news for Salt Lake City and Utah businesses" commented Mayor Becker. "A Foreign-Trade Zone in Utah is a significant advantage to companies who are doing business in international trade or thinking about that opportunity. It is a great complement to the other assets we have in place as a global city."

A Foreign-Trade Zone is a designated site licensed by the U.S. government that offers U.S.-based businesses advantages in competing with foreign firms in international trade. A designated zone can defer, reduce, or eliminate customs duties, improve cash flow, lower inventory costs, and streamline customs procedures.

To view the full article, visit Utah Pulse at http://www.utahpulse.com/featured_article/salt-lake-city-foreign-trade-zone-receives-reorganization-approval-from-us-commerce

Foreign Trade Zone Designation is Elusive

Created in the summer of 2006 with great fanfare and expectations, the Southeast Iowa Regional Economic and Port Authority has been the class underachiever in the Lee County school of economic development.

One of the first actions of the port authority upon its creation was to pursue a foreign trade zone designation.

Foreign trade zones serve as places where foreign and domestic merchandise is considered to be outside the United States, according to a Web site for the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones.

Zones encourage local business and manufacturing by removing disincentives to manufacturing in the United States such as duties and tariffs.

The next closest FTZ is in the Quad Cities area.

For the southeast Iowa port authority, officials applied to have four areas declared general-purpose foreign trade zones: Mount Pleasant, Burlington, Louisa County and Lee County.

Unfortunately, that FTZ application has been waylaid by miles of bureaucratic red tape.

To view the full article, visit The Hawk Eye at http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/Prg-port-authority-031509

Insourcing Global Trade Management

Most importers and exporters are careful to manage inventory, tariffs and compliance. In a recent survey of trade consultants conducted by Integration Point, every respondent (100%) indicated that their client companies perform denied party screening and recognize foreign trade zones. However, most outsource this work to consultants, freight forwarders or other third party service providers. The cost of internal automation and process control has been too high for most importers and exporters to do on their own. Acquiring and maintaining a trade management system and data has been too much of a burden for smaller companies to adopt on top of their core business needs within manufacturing, sales and marketing and supplier relations.

Now however, with increasing government fines and liability being imposed, companies often don't want to entrust a third party for all compliance requirements. In a recent case, Cabela's, an outdoor equipment outfitter based in Nebraska, agreed to pay a $680,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it committed 152 violations of the Export Administration Regulations. The law stipulates that even jail time may be imposed on offenders. As such, compliance failure is just too risky for any sized importer and exporter.

To avoid such liabilities, importers and exporters must be able to clearly prove that they applied "reasonable care" to all traded goods. While third party (outsourced) solutions can do this, many importers and exporters want tighter control of the process and paperwork. For example, every respondent in the Integration Point survey indicated that they want to store product certificates for future reference, even if the compliance checks are being done by a third party.

To view the full article, visit Industry Week at http://www.industryweek.com/articles/insourcing_global_trade_management_18650.aspx?Page=2&SectionID=4?ShowAll=1

US FTZs and Duty-Free Treatment

In the 110th Congress (2007-2008), Representative Bill Pascrell sponsored legislation that would have corrected an inequity currently faced by manufacturers operating in U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZs). Such manufacturers must compete in the US marketplace against duty-free imports manufactured abroad by firms in FTZ partner countries. This unequal treatment occurs even when the FTZ products meet the rules of
origin under NAFTA and other US Free Trade Agreements.

Pascrell’s bill (H.R.6415;110th Congress)would have provided that goods that are manufactured in a US-based FTZ and comply with the rules of origin under a trade agreement, to which the United States is a party, may enter the customs territory of the United States at the rate of duty applicable under that agreement.

Pascrell’s bill was not acted on during the last Congress, so it died at the end of the session. There is a renewed effort to reintroduce this bill, as part of an effort to boost the competitiveness and reduce costs of US based manufacturers who employ US workers. The initiative is being supported by a combination of public and private entities that recognize the importance of trade as an economic stimulus, and seek to increase the competitiveness of US-based manufacturers in the global marketplace.

Is your company interested in furthering the goals of this initiative? For further information or to learn more, please contact Megan Wilson, AAEI’s Director of Government Affairs at mwilson@aaei.org