The Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) gained final approval recently from the US Department of Commerce to designate Miami International Airport’s entire 3,230-acre land parcel as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) magnet site.
This designation allows existing or prospective airport tenants to operate manufacturing, warehousing and/or distribution centers on airport property, and have their federal tariffs deferred, reduced or eliminated, providing time and cost savings for approved importers and exporters.
Companies handling high-traffic commodities at MIA—including perishables, pharmaceuticals, electronics, auto parts, machinery equipment, and consumer goods—are expected to be FTZ applicants. To be an FTZ operator, companies must first complete an application with PortMiami, the grantee of FTZ 281, and then receive approval from US Customs and Border Protection. The expedited application process takes approximately 30 days.
“The MIA FTZ creates an attractive business opportunity for companies to begin or expand their operations directly on-site at the passenger and cargo gateway of the Americas,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A Gimenez.
The new magnet site, an expansion of Miami-Dade County’s existing FTZ 281, will allow companies to receive and process materials and merchandise with reduced or eliminated Customs duties upon entry into the United States at MIA.
FTZ 281 encompasses land from SW 8th Street to the Broward County line, and from Miami Beach in the east to the Urban Development line in the west. Companies within an FTZ can defer paying duties only when product exits the site, reduce duties on combined finished products instead of on each individual product, and eliminate duties on products being imported to the site and then exported.
Learn more at www.MIAefficiency.com.
