Foreign Trade Zone Established

Spokane’s airports and a West Plains industrial park will become foreign trade zones, offering businesses a way to save money on fees and tariffs on imported goods.

Federal, state and local officials Monday hailed the designation of a trade zone as a way to help existing businesses and attract new ones.

“You’ve got to have lots of tools in your tool kit,” Rich Hadley, president of the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce said at the trade zone’s announcement.

After two years of research, lobbying and hearings, the U.S. Department of Commerce has granted the trade zone designation to Spokane International Airport, Felts Field and the International Airport Business Park.

That will allow businesses to ship foreign goods or raw materials into those zones without paying customs duties or excise taxes. Once in the zone, a company can process, reassemble or mix those parts with other goods. If the final product is exported to another country, the business would pay no duty or taxes on it.

If the product is sold in the United States, the company would pay those fees only when it leaves the trade zone. And if the foreign material is less than half of the finished product, the fees would be lower than that of the original imported material.

Companies in the Spokane area that import foreign goods or raw materials could also apply for a “sub zone.” That would allow them to bring those products to their business sites without paying duties or taxes, providing they follow governmental accounting procedures.

Some 220 foreign trade zones exist around the country. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, presented the Commerce Department’s designation to airport officials. Mayor Jack Geraghty said the zone was another sign that “we’re becoming, as each month passes, more of a player on the international scene.”

The trade zone will begin operating in a few months, as soon as procedures and a tariff schedule are developed, airport spokesman Todd Woodard said.

, DataTimes