Miami International Airport has received government approval to be designated as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) magnet site, allowing manufacturers to lease available property space and have tariffs deferred, reduced or eliminated.
The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved the application to the US Department of Commerce, expanding Miami-Dade County’s FTZ281 to include the airport, allowing companies to receive and process materials and merchandise as soon as it enters the country at MIA, all with reduced or eliminated Customs duties.
Site users would include pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles, footwear, auto parts, aircraft parts, avionics, machinery equipment, consumer goods and perishables companies.
Miami-Dade Aviation director, Emilio Gonzalez says: “With more than 400,000 square feet of space available for lease, activating an FTZ magnet site on airport property will turn vacant real estate into a significant revenue stream.”
“Combined with our recent designation by the International Air Transport Association as the first pharmaceutical freight hub in the U.S., a magnet site designation has vast potential for opening new doors at MIA within the trade and logistics industries, in addition to being a major job creator.”
FTZ281 encompasses an area from Southwest Eighth Street to the Broward County line and from Miami Beach in the East to the Urban Development line in the West. Active FTZs are considered outside of the commerce and customs territory of the US, meaning companies can operate without being subjected to federal entry procedures or federal excise taxes while minimising involvement from other regulatory compliance agencies.
