Kanban Logistics Designated as Foreign Trade Zone

SEPTEMBER 06, 2007
Since 2003, Kanban Logistics has held the status of a General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) at their Rocky Mount, NC facility, and remains the only General Purpose FTZ along the Interstate I-95 corridor in North Carolina. The Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) is a program by the Federal Government which has existed since the 1930s and still thrives today. Legally, a Foreign Trade Zone is a location within the U.S. that the Government considers outside the U.S. Custom’s territory. Through Kanban Logistics, merchandise entering the Foreign Trade Zone may be stored, exhibited, tested, sampled, relabeled, repackaged, repaired, manipulated, mixed or cleaned. It also may be salvaged, processed, destroyed, assembled, or manufactured. If the final product is exported, no U.S. customs duty or excise tax is levied. If the final product is imported into the U.S., customs duty and excise taxes are due only at the time of transfer from the Foreign Trade Zone and formal entry into the U.S. occurs.

Significant FTZ Benefits:
• Duty Deferral – Customs duty and federal excise taxes, if applicable, are only paid when merchandise is transferred from an FTZ to customs territory of the U.S. or transferred to Canada or Mexico (NAFTA countries)
• Duty Elimination – Items in FTZ may be imported into, and further exported from a zone without payment of customs duties and taxes, except to a few countries, such as NAFTA countries. Merchandise may be imported into a Foreign Trade Zone for destruction without duty or excise taxes.
• Quota Restrictions – Quota restrictions may be avoided by admitting merchandise into an FTZ. Over quota goods may be held in a zone until the next quota time period begins, and may be used as a component part of a product that is not over quota.
• No Time Constraints on Storage – Goods may remain in a zone indefinitely, whether or not subject to duty
• Reduce Supply Chain Time – Users of FTZ have more flexibility for merchandise and may eliminate delays related to U.S. Customs clearances. Special direct delivery procedures expedite the receipt of goods in company facilities, which in turn reduces inventory cycle time.
• Security and Insurance Costs – Federal criminal sanctions and Customs security requirements are deterrents against theft, which may result in lower insurance costs and fewer incidents of loss for imported goods into the Foreign Trade Zone. Cargo insurance rates may also be reduced.

Kanban Logistics can completely bundle the Foreign Trade Zone process for a customer, and strives to operate with the overriding concept of customer service and assistance. For more information, call 1-800-451-7522.