By Andy Ross
Special to The Smithville Times

Bastrop County Commissioners gave the go ahead this week to plans that will enable Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) sites to be established inside the county.

FTZs – federally designated areas that allow for the relaxation of customs duty payments for businesses involved in international trade – are located around the U.S. and Texas, the most local example being FTZ No. 183 which is sponsored by the Foreign Trade Zone of Central Texas (FTZCTI) and encompasses nine different sites in Round Rock, Austin, Georgetown, San Marcos and Cedar Park.

Under the plan approved by county commissioners this week, Bastrop County would join the Service Area of FTZ No. 183, a move that would give FTZCTI the chance to apply for establishing future sites in Bastrop County if particular business’ in the county have trade-related circumstances advantageous to a FTZ.

According to Rachel Clampffer, the county’s assistant director of planning and project management, the development is an important step if Bastrop County wants to more directly participate in the global marketplace.

“This is another positive step for Bastrop County,” Clampffer said on Monday after giving a presentation to commissioners. “This is just opening up more opportunities for us. It is not guaranteeing we will attract more business but it is opening up more opportunity to do so.”

By joining the Service Area of FTZ No. 183, Bastrop County would be doing so at a time when achieving FTZ designation areas is reportedly becoming easier and less expensive for businesses. In previous times, a business looking to obtaining FTZ designation would often have to wait more than a year for approval and spend upwards of $50,000 on the application process, according to reports from Joseph Vining of the FTZCTI.  A new initiative from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, however, is allowing for approval of FTZs inside designated Service Areas to be cut down to a 90-day period and cost less than $10,000.

Because FTZs are considered to be outside of U.S. Customs Territory, goods entering the zones are not subjected to normal customs tariffs until they are shipped back outside the zones. A wide range of activities such as assembling, storing, packaging, sorting, or labeling, just to name a few, can take place within FTZs, allowing businesses to keep costs down while items are waiting to be shipped.

The inventory within FTZs is also exempt from local ad valorem taxing.

Among the major Central Texas companies that have utilized FTZs in recent times are Dell, Samsung, Westinghouse, Dresser and Seiko Instruments.

In other business:

• A resolution pledging the court’s support of the City of Bastrop Water Development Board grant application was approved.

• The reappointment of Precinct 3 Commissioner John Klaus to the Combined Community Action Inc. Board of Directors was approved.

• The renaming of O’Grady Street in Precinct 1 to Queen Street was approved.