AUBURN — Business leaders and officials from throughout Central Maine attended a free, one-day workshop recently on highlighting the advantages of participating in the Foreign-Trade Zone program.

Held at the office of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council and Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, economic development staff emphasized the importance of international trade at a local level, including the benefit of Foreign-Trade Zone 263 in Auburn.

With more than 20 representatives in attendance, including logistic and distribution professionals, manufacturers, developers, service providers and perspective clients, the all-day event provided an opportunity for consultants and economic development officials to emphasize advantages of the zone.

The FTZ program allows companies to defer paying duties on imported goods until they are sold domestically. If the product is exported, or shipped to another FTZ for storage or additional assembly to be exported, the tariff is deferred or eliminated altogether. An FTZ user can also warehouse raw materials or components, assemble, finish, or otherwise add value to the goods and typically expect to pay lower tariffs compared to the tariff rate prior to alteration.

Issued the license and grant of authority by Congress and signed by Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans to the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council in October of 2004, FTZ 263 encompasses 760 acres of land including the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport, intermodal facility and adjacent Auburn Industrial Park.

Companies that conduct manufacturing, assembly, fabrication and value-added activities within a FTZ are also eligible for additional benefits. They include inverted tariff savings, weekly Customs entry savings, duty deferral, duty elimination on waste and scrap, duty elimination on rejected or defective parts, duty elimination on re-exports, and duty elimination on domestic content or value added including labor, overhead and profits.