Duty Deferral
Customs duty and federal excise taxes, if they apply, are paid only when merchandise is transferred from an FTZ to customs territory of the U.S. or transferred to a NAFTA country (Canada or Mexico)

Duty Elimination
Merchandise may be imported into, and then exported from a zone without the payment of Customs duties and taxes except to certain countries, such as a NAFTA country. Goods may also be imported into an FTZ for destruction without payment of duty or excise taxes.

Inverted Tariff Relief
Inverted tariff relief occurs when imported parts are dutiable at higher rates than the finished product into which they are incorporated. For example, the duty rate on an imported steering wheel is 4 percent if imported directly into the U.S., however, if that steering wheel is brought into the Foreign Trade Zone and incorporated into an assembled automobile, the duty rate on the finished automobile including the steering wheel is 2.5 percent.

Ad Valorem Tax Exemption
Products imported from outside the United States and held in a zone for the purpose of storage, sale, exhibition, repackaging, assembly, distribution, sorting, grading, cleaning, mixing, display, manufacturing, or processing, and merchandise produced in the United States and held in a zone for exportation, either in its original form or altered by any of the above methods is exempt from state and local ad valorem taxes.

No Time Constraints on Storage
Merchandise may remain in a zone indefinitely, whether or not subject to duty.

Security and Insurance Costs
Customs security requirements and federal criminal sanctions are deterrents against theft. This may result in lower insurance costs, and fewer incidents of loss for imported cargo into the FTZ.