KENT, Ohio, January 2,
2003 – The
Northeast Ohio Trade & Economic Consortium (NEOTEC) has announced that its
expansion application for Foreign-Trade Zone 181 has been approved by the
Foreign-Trade Zones Board in Washington, D.C., making Northeast Ohio home to
one of the largest foreign-trade zones in the country.
With the application’s
approval, Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 181 will encompass nearly 6,000 acres
at 23 sites throughout Northeast Ohio. “This expansion provides more
locations and more opportunities for companies doing business globally,”
said Ron DeBarr, President & CEO of NEOTEC. “By utilizing the benefits
of the zone, companies can reduce costs and enhance their competitive
position in the global marketplace,” DeBarr said.
The 23 sites of FTZ 181
are connected by intermodal hubs throughout the region, including
Ashtabula’s deep-water port on Lake Erie, the Ohio River port of Wellsville,
and NEOMODAL, a multimodal facility in Stark County, as well as Mansfield
Lahm Airport, Akron-Canton Airport and Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
“FTZ 181 is a centrally located zone whose multiple sites offer unparalleled
access to American industry, a skilled labor force and a multimodal
transportation network,” said DeBarr. “Northeast Ohio can now offer this
tremendous tool for companies to compete and succeed in the global
economy.”
DeBarr said that the
successful expansion was made possible through the support of NEOTEC’s
partners, including the Summit County Port Authority, the Stark County Port
Authority, the Columbiana County Port Authority, the Western Reserve Port
Authority, Mansfield Lahm Airport, and the Growth Partnership for Ashtabula
County.
Foreign-trade zones are
restricted access sites in the United States that are aligned with a U.S.
Customs port of entry. The numerous benefits to users include duty
deferral, duty elimination, inverted tariff relief, and excise tax
exemptions. Formal customs entries are not required for merchandise that
enters the zone. There are more than 250 foreign-trade zones in the United
States.
NEOTEC, a regional
economic development partnership of Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning,
Portage, Stark, Summit and Trumbull counties, serves as administrator of
Foreign-Trade Zone 181 on behalf of the Joint Office of Economic Development
(JOED). The JOED is comprised of the Commissioners of six of the NEOTEC
counties and the Executive of Summit County.
In addition to promoting
international commerce through the administration of Foreign-Trade Zone 181,
NEOTEC works to improve market access to create a world-class regional
logistics system through the administration of the Northeast Ohio Logistics
Network.
For more information
about Foreign-Trade Zone 181 or the Northeast Ohio Logistics Network, visit
the NEOTEC Web site at www.NEOTEC.org or contact Ron DeBarr at NEOTEC at
(800) 793-0912 or via e-mail at NEOTEC@kent.edu.
The Northeast Ohio
Trade and Economic Consortium (NEOTEC) is a regional economic development
partnership including Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit and
Trumbull counties, built to improve market access through the development of
the Northeast Ohio Logistics Network and to promote international commerce
through the administration of Foreign Trade Zone 181.
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