Quicker approval touted for Foreign Trade Zone

MOSES LAKE - Businesses wanting to be part of the Port of Moses Lake's expanded Foreign Trade Zone can have their applications approved faster.

The zone expanded last year to include all of Grant County and 10 other Eastern Washington counties, said Craig Baldwin, the Port of Moses Lake's executive manager, on Friday.

According to a recent approval order from the Foreign Trade Zone board, it now takes 30 days to have business applications approved to become part of the zone.

It used to take a couple of years to receive approval, said Pat Boss, government affairs director with the Port of Quincy.

The Port of Moses Lake added three users to the zone this year: Zip Trucking, REC Silicon and BMW/SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers, Baldwin said.

The port subsidizes its zone for about $40,000 annually.

But as other businesses join the zone, the amount for the port does go down, Baldwin explained.

For businesses, it costs between $9,800 to $19,900 annually to be part of the zone.

"The more users that are in the zone, the more money we make," Baldwin said.

Representatives with one of Grant County's port districts, the Port of Quincy, realize the benefits.

It means more opportunities are provided for companies considering locating in the Quincy area.

It is because they don't have to pay duty fees on incoming products, explained Port of Quincy commissioner Curt Morris.

"The designation of a Foreign Trade Zone is essentially like you've never entered the U.S., like you are still out of the country," he commented.

The benefit comes to companies importing something from out of the country and manufacturing it, using it as an ingredient, or a component part, and shipping it back out of the country or within the U.S., he said.

The Port of Quincy doesn't have those types of manufacturing businesses now, he said.

For others outside the port, it gives interested businesses one more reason to consider Quincy.

Some advantages of being inside a Foreign Trade Zone are being apart from U.S. Customs territory, no tariffs on incoming goods until they leave the zone and are brought into U.S. Customs territory, and no time limit on goods stored inside the zone, according to information provided by the Port of Quincy.

Assembling, packaging, destroying, storing, exhibiting, distributing, sorting, grading, testing, labeling, repairing, combining with foreign or domestic content, or processing can be done in the zone.

Pat Boss, of the Port of Quincy, said the port received inquiries in the past from businesses wanting to operate in a Foreign Trade Zone, especially if they are involved with importing and exporting.

"We believe it's going to be another good economic development selling point," Boss said.

Recently more companies have called him, but didn't disclose firm plans to locate in Quincy.

Sometimes companies are considering Foreign Trade Zones because of the state of the global economy.

Companies pay a fee to be part of the zone and have to decide if it is worth the expense.

For certain businesses, it becomes cost effective to not pay tariffs.

"The key to the whole Foreign Trade Zone is, you have to be taking a local product, combining it with an imported product and shipping it back out again," he said.