Coming to you live
from the Headquarters
of the US Census Bureau:
The Foreign Trade Division,
Data Collection Coordination
Branch (DCCB) News Report.
Hello, I'm Leroy Brown
..and I'm Renee Sommers.
Our Lead Story today is
about Foreign Trade Zones.
Renee, There are a
few questions I want
to ask our viewing audience:
Do you know what a
Foreign Trade Zone is
and the two types of zones?
What does the government
consider Foreign Trade
Zone Admissions?
What are the specific
Foreign Trade Zone
Reporting Requirements?
And how can your
organization benefit
from filing your Foreign Trade
Zone data electronically?
The answers to these questions
and more coming up next.
Please stay with us.
Let's begin by defining
Foreign Trade Zones:
Foreign Trade Zones are
restricted access sites,
in or adjacent to a Customs port
of entry, but legally defined
as outside the Customs Territory
of the United States. They
are operated by a public
or private corporation,
as authorized
by the Foreign Trade Zone
Board, and under supervision
of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection.
There
are two types of zones.
They are General
Purpose and Subzones:
General Purpose Zones
are established
for multiple activities
and multiple users.
The zone may consist of
one or more multiple sites,
an example of general purpose
zones can be a single building,
an industrial park, or
an international airport.
Subzones are special
purpose sites established
for a limited purpose that
cannot be accommodated
within an existing zone.
For example, an automotive
company could assemble parts
for a specific type
of car in a Subzone.
Allow me to bring some clarity
to the term Foreign
Trade Zone Admissions.
Foreign Trade Zone Admissions
refer to the physical arrival
of goods into a zone in
a specified zone status
with appropriate approvals
of the zone grantee
and Customs Border
and Protection Agency.
The word "admission" is used
in place of the word "entry"
to avoid confusion with Customs
and Border protection entry
processes under parts 141-144
of Customs and Border Protection
Code of Federal Regulations.
There are specific
statistical filing requirements
for Foreign Trade Zone
Admissions: Let us walk you
through some of those
requirements.
Foreign Trade Zone imports refer
to merchandise exiting the
FTZ for US consumption.
All admissions into Foreign
Trade Zones must be filed
through Customs and Border
Protection electronic 214
program or their paper
equivalent Customs
and Border Protection Forms
214 and 214A, the Application
for Foreign Trade
Zone Admissions and/or
Status designation.
All fields must be completed
to comply with Customs
and the Census Bureaus
statistical requirements.
Foreign Trade Zone exports refer
to merchandise exiting the
Foreign Trade Zone for shipment
to other countries outside
of the United States.
Export information for Census
Bureau purposes are collected
via the Automated Export
System (AES) or AESDirect.
These are other electronic
systems that contribute
to the ease of reporting quality
and timely data to
the Census Bureau.
There is an additional reporting
requirements that impacts Census
and Customs, that is
important as well:
All Customs Forms 214A should
be gathered by Customs officers
and transmitted to Census as
soon as possible but not later
than ten days after the
merchandise has been admitted
to the zone.
Box 14 on the paper form must be
marked No when filing paper form
because it notifies
Customs Officials know
that the data was not filed
electronically; and the form has
to be mailed to Census Puerto
Trade Data Staff for keying.
This practice also helps
eliminate duplicate reporting.
Let me recap three critical
reporting requirements.
When merchandise leaves
a Foreign Trade Zone
for U.S. consumption,
data must be filed
through Customs Automated
Broker Interface
or the paper equivalent
Customs Form 7501.
Admitting merchandise
into a Foreign Trade Zone
requires filing data using
Customs e214 process or their
paper equivalent Customs Forms
214 and 214A.
When merchandise is
exported to another country
from a Foreign Trade Zone,
filing your export
data is required
through the Automated
Export System or AESDirect.
The Census Bureau
reports continued growth
in the electronic filing
of Foreign Trade Zone data.
Approximately 95% of all Foreign
Trade Zone filers are using the
Customs and Border
Protection e214 filing process.
We encourage all paper filers
to consider filing their Foreign
Trade Zone data electronically.
All you paper filers, come a
little closer, get on board.
Join us in the 21st century.
Don't, wait or hesitate, but
participate in the e214 process.
The facts are: The growth
of Foreign Trade Zones
and electronic filing has
resulted in enormous benefits
for the public and
private sectors.
The Foreign Trade Zone Board
reports approximately 330,000
jobs were created in 2009
throughout the United States
as a result of zone activities.
Additionally, Foreign
Trade Zones help facilitate
and expedite international
trade.
Data filed electronically
benefit The Trade Community
in the following ways:
Provides paperless transmission
of Foreign Trade Zone data
simultaneously to Customs
and the Census Bureau;
Provides cost efficiencies
and helps the environment
by eliminating paper;
Provides edits and
validates data,
thus increasing reporting
accuracy and timeliness
of the data submitted.
US Foreign Trade Zones provide
more substantial benefits
for US based manufactures
and distributors than many
of the free trade
zones located abroad.
In a US zone, merchandise can
be: assembled, manipulated,
manufactured, repackaged,
and destroyed.
Some of the most attractive
benefits to companies are relief
from inverted tariffs, duty
exemption on re-exports,
and cash flow savings.
Taking advantage of these
electronic filing systems
and benefits will be of great
value to your organization.
You may be wondering
how you can learn more.
Well, if you need additional
information regarding the
Automated Broker Interface/E-214
enrollment process,
please call Customs Border and
Protection at (571) 468-5500.
A Customs representative
will gladly assist you
in becoming e214 compliant.
For all statistical
related questions,
please call the US Census
Bureau, Foreign Trade Division,
Call Center Help Desk
at 1-800-549-0595.
A client representative awaits
your call to provide you
with good customer service.
Renee, We have a breaking
news story, THIS JUST IN!
The Census Bureau reports
that many e214 filers are
reporting invalid entries
into the Foreign Trade
Zone Identifier field.
This is the field that
provides the identity
of the Foreign Trade Zone
from which the merchandise
was exported.
This is a five position
field consisting
of alphanumeric characters.
The first three positions
correspond
to the General Purpose Zone
and the last two positions
reflect the Subzone.
We need you to report
complete and accurate data
because it is vital
to the US Economy.
Finally, to wrap up
the news segment today,
We are providing
you with references
to help you gather
additional information
about Foreign Trade Zones.
That's the Foreign Trade
Division, DCCB News for today.
Until Next Time,
thanks for joining us.
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