LEARN. GROW. CONNECT.
TCMA VOICEA newsletter presented by the Treasure Coast Manufacturers Association
FALL 2022
Indian River County Chamber boot camp gives grads a leg up
St. Lucie County expands foreign trade zone to include all of the Treasure Coast
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The International Trade Association
recently announced that St. Lucie County’s
Foreign Trade Zone No. 218 has been
approved by the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones
Board for reorganization under its alternative
site framework, allowing for the
expedited designation of sites for companies
ready to conduct Foreign Trade Zone
FTZ activities.
The service area for newly reorganized No.
218 has been broadened to encompass all
of St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee
counties, extending significant potential
benefits to the Port of Fort Pierce and
Treasure Coast International Airport and
Business Park.
“Foreign Trade Zone No. 218 will now
become a powerful economic development
tool for the entire Treasure Coast and
in particular, will support the dramatic and
continued growth of manufacturing in St.
Lucie County,” county commission chairman
Sean Mitchell said.
“Foreign Trade Zone benefits are key for
manufacturers interested in exporting
their goods. The expansion of our FTZ will
help the Economic Development Council
of St. Lucie County recruit manufacturers
who can bring high-wage jobs to
the county,” added Pete Tesch, St. Lucie
Economic Development Council president.
“This is particularly good news at a time
when supply chain challenges are impacting
existing manufacturing businesses and
as companies look for alternative locations
to the congestion in South Florida.”
The FTZ designation provides federal
tax relief on merchandise that is shipped
through the federally-approved zone. The
new designation provides considerably
more flexibility for companies looking to
benefit from an FTZ.
St. Lucie County’s original FTZ designation
was approved in October 1996 under
Central Florida Foreign Trade Zone Inc. at
the St. Lucie County Airport. The FTZ board
changed its name in 2012 to the Treasure
Coast Foreign Trade Zone Inc. St. Lucie
County is now the grantee of the FTZ.
FOREIGN TRADE ZONE BENEFITS
• Relief from inverted tariffs charged to
component items or raw materials for a
finished product.
• Duty exemption on reexports – If the
imported merchandise is part of a finished
product that is exported back out of the
country, no customs duty is ever due.
• Duty elimination on waste, scrap, yield
loss or damages – There is much less
paperwork involved, as no duty reimbursement
needs to be requested when damaged
goods are imported into the foreign
trade zone.
• Weekly Entry Savings – The zone user
files only one customs entry per week,
rather than filing one per shipment.
• Duty Deferral – Duty is deferred until
imported merchandise is shipped out of
the designated Foreign Trade Zone into
the U.S. market.
Businesses with questions about Foreign
Trade Zone No. 218 can contact St. Lucie
County Air and Seaport executive director
J. Stanley Payne at paynes@stlucieco.org
or call 772.462.1450.
The Indian River County Chamber of
Commerce held its third Manufacturing
Boot Camp session this summer, with
12 students participating, including two
Charter High School graduates. And, for
the first time, there were three girls who
participated in the program.
The program was launched in 2019 with
just eight students and has grown steadily
each year.
This summer, students toured 12 manufacturing
facilities during the weeklong
session, including visits to several new
partner employers: Pusher Intakes, which
makes after-market performance engine
parts for diesel trucks; Integrity Metal, a
metal roofing manufacturer; and Diamond
Drinks, a company the Chamber helped
bring to the county that bottles a variety
of fruit juices. The hands-on drilling and
riveting offered at Piper Aircraft is always
the students’ favorite.
Members of the Chamber’s Boot Camp
Committee also played a crucial role in
the program by providing their expertise
in the daily soft-skills sessions. Those
sessions covered areas such as career
planning, financial literacy, resume writing
and interview skills, appropriate dress and
grooming, and verbal/nonverbal communications.
Plus, Manpower conducted
mock interviews at the end of the week for
those who were interested.
One of the graduated seniors received
two job offers from participating employers
and decided on the job with Diamond
Drinks. Another senior had his sights set
on working at Aluma Tower.
The Chamber is already gearing up for the
2023 Boot Camp session, scheduled for
June 5-9.
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