GOSHEN – The Orange County Foreign Trade zone has been dormant for the last several years, but under the leadership of County Economic Development Director Steven Gross there is renewed interest in it.
A federally designated FTZ allows companies to import components of their products but not pay tariffs on them until they are assembled and shifted out of the zone.
Gross has recently received interest from a few Asian companies and a Port Jervis business, Planet Health Foods, has also expressed interest.
“They do a lot of importing of foods from Africa and Far East as far as spices, and really getting back to the route of trade when you are talking about spices,” he said. “It’s interesting to see what we can do to get them in and get that facility up and running.”
The Foreign Trade Zone is a status and would not require a business to move to a new location if they are currently U.S. based.
