FTZ No. 79 Educates via Multi-County Seminar

The 2017 Tampa Bay Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) Seminar, presented by Foreign-Trade Zone No. 79 and Port Tampa Bay, was held on November 9th to create awareness about the importance of FTZs and how it benefits companies in the Tampa Bay area. This educational seminar featured speakers Torrey Chambliss, Manager; FTZ & Business Cargo Development at Port Tampa Bay and Director; National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones’ Board of Directors, and Eric Berry, Director, Trade Services at Point Trade Services, Inc.

The seminar was held in two different locations, a morning session held in Hillsborough County and an afternoon session held in Polk County, which allowed the opportunity for local businesses to attend the meeting that provided them the most convenience. This seminar included topics such as: understanding FTZs at the local and national levels, knowing the purpose of an FTZ, apprehending national and company-wide benefits, grasping how FTZs complement import and export strategies, and seeing who is involved in making an FTZ successful. Finally, the seminar offered real world examples of FTZ operations.

Torrey Chambliss stated that, “The seminar was hosted in order to educate the local businesses how the Foreign-Trade Zone program can help streamline the process and minimize the costs associated with qualified importing, exporting, manufacturing, and distribution activities. Understanding FTZ benefits apply to all goods, regardless the mode of transportation including sea, air, and land, any company importing goods could potentially benefit from participation within the FTZ program since it is not commodity specific.

For additional information about the FTZ Program and/or upcoming FTZ events, please contact Torrey Chambliss at (813) 905-5125 or tchambliss@tampaport.com