Foreign Trade Zone (FTZs) are defined in the Regulations of the FTZs Board (19CFR Part 400). According to it: " A Foreign Trade Zone is a restricted-access site, in or adjacent to a Customs Port of Entry, operated pursuant to public utility principles under the sponsorship of a corporation granted authority by the Board and under supervision of the Customs Service". FTZs are treated, for the purposes of the tariff laws and Customs entry procedures, as being outside the Customs Territory of The United States. Under FTZ procedures, foreign and domestic merchandise may be admitted into zones for operations such as; Storage, Exhibition, Assembly, Manufacture, Processing, without being subject to formal Customs entry procedures, the payments of Customs duties or the payment of Federal and Excise taxes.

FTZs Statistics


• Over 2,800 firms use FTZs
• Over 340,000 people are employed at facilities operating under FTZ status.
• Approximately 75% of merchandise received is domestic. Domestic status merchandise is mainly merchandise of domestic origin but includes some foreign origin goods on which Customs entry and duty payments have been made prior to zone admission.
• The total value of merchandise moving through FTZs amounts to more than $160 Billion annually.
• Exports from FTZs exceed 17 billion dollars annually and are growing fast.
• All 50 states plus Puerto Rico have established Foreign Trade Zones.
• There are more than 245 approved general-purpose zones and over 390 approved subzones in the United States