So far, it’s the twilight trade zone

A much-anticipated commerce district has become a much-unused business opportunity in the Spokane area.

The Foreign Trade Zones created in Spokane County have not been utilized since they were introduced in 1997.

The trade zone is a special location designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce that allows businesses to save on fees and tariffs on imported goods.

Spokane International Airport applied for the designation in 1996 and at the time officials said it would help existing businesses as well as attract new ones.

But since then, nobody has taken advantage of the areas, which include property at the airport, Felts Field and at Inland Empire Distribution Systems in the Spokane Industrial Park.

That could change, especially as coastal ports get more congested, said Todd Woodard, spokesman for the Spokane airport.

“A lot of that freight will move eastbound,” Woodard predicted. “I think perseverance will win out.”

A Foreign Trade Zone is a specific area where international shipments can be brought in and changed in some way, through sorting, processing, assembling or another activity.

A company could import a shipment of rubber ducks from Taiwan, for example, but only take 20 percent of the ducks out of the container, said Matt Ewers, vice president for business development at IEDS. The company would only pay an import duty only on the 20 percent.

Or a company could add other materials or packaging to the products inside the trade zone, lowering duties, he said.

There are numerous other potential benefits to a Foreign Trade Zone, but most of them make sense only in certain situations, Ewers said.

“If you have very little duty on your import, then it doesn’t make sense,” Ewers said. “We’re willing to work with a client to see if it does make sense.”

There are 13 Foreign Trade Zones in Washington, most of them serving sea ports, though one is in Moses Lake.

Woodard said some companies may still have hang-ups about using the system.

“I think there’s a perception that it’s a cumbersome system and that it would take extra staffing to operate the zone and do the inventory,” he said. “I don’t think it’s as cumbersome as people believe it to be.”

The airport will keep the zones running, and Woodard said he imagines companies will start to use the system in the future.

“There’s a million ways to employ it,” he said. “I think it’s a very helpful tool that eventually will be utilized.”