Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone offers access to the only U.S. government program specifically designed to cut the cost of doing business. By statute, the FTZ program allows businesses to reduce, delay, or eliminate tariffs.
Delaying or Eliminating Tariff Payments
Hold onto your money longer by delaying duty payments until your imported merchandise leaves your factory or warehouse and enters the U.S. market.
Withhold payment on duties on merchandise that is rejected, scrapped, exported, or consumed within an FTZ.
Saving Time
Shorten your supply chains by bypassing the need for a customs entry before receiving your merchandise from a port of entry.
Start filing a consolidated weekly entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rather than reporting individual shipments.
There is no cost and no obligation to find out if the FTZ program is right for your company. Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone offers all businesses the opportunity to have our team analyze the savings you can expect to realize on an annual basis based on your specific business operations. It’s free, confidential, and easy to get started.
In addition, Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone offers its member companies exclusive additional benefits at no additional cost including access to the nation’s leading experts in FTZ procedures and compliance, trade attorneys, and to both the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ), the industry’s largest association, and the World Free Zone’s Organization, which advises free and special economic zones globally.
Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone is a partner you can trust. Many of our state’s largest and most iconic employers have worked with us for years, and so too have many small businesses. If you’re not sure the program is right for you, send us your questions. Our expert team will respond quickly and advise you of your options and the best way to move your business forward.
FAQs
Where is the zone? And what is it?
The most frequently asked question about foreign-trade zones is where they’re located. And the answer is that they’re everywhere. In fact, if you’re anywhere in Georgia, you’re potentially in a foreign-trade zone.
Unlike free trade zones in other parts of the world, the U.S. does not require a business to relocate their operations to a specific area as a condition for accessing federal benefits.
Participating in the program confers a legal status onto the business conducted at a company’s place of operations – whether that’s a factory, warehouse, or distribution center.
That status is valuable. It puts that site outside the territory of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the purposes of tariff laws and entry procedures. A wide-range of economic benefits and supply chain optimizations opens up, allowing companies to better compete in their industries.
Where does Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone operate?
A list of counties in which we are able to operate is listed here. If your company’s sites fall outside of our geographic service area, we can connect you with officials in charge of Georgia’s two other foreign-trade zones, based out of Savannah and Brunswick.
What are the benefits of participating in the FTZ program?
In short, participating in the program lowers the cost of doing business for companies that have a global supply chain.
Participating companies can benefit from improved cash flow since tariffs are delayed until merchandise is released into commerce within the United States.
Subject to executive orders that modify regulations governing tariffs, the statute authorizing the FTZ program allows businesses to use merchandise to create a more finished product, opening the possibility of significantly reducing or even fully eliminating the tariffs that would otherwise be assessed.
Here’s how this has historically been done: if the tariff rate on imported merchandise used in the production of a finished product is higher than the duty rate of the finished product, the lower rate is applied. This helps level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers competing globally. Whilst the program cannot practically be applied in most circumstances to reduce or eliminate tariffs as of November 2025, merchandise that is never released, or is exported to a foreign market even as part of a finished product, will never be assessed duties or tariffs.
All companies can also take advantage of faster, more streamlined movement of merchandise and hard caps on processing fees. Many companies are eligible to take advantage of special procedures such as direct delivery and weekly entry that expedite the movement of cargo, thereby supporting just-in-time delivery. Merchandise Processing Fees (MPF) are reliably set at a lower cost than is oftentimes otherwise paid.
How does a company obtain FTZ status?
Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone and its trade experts are here to help guide companies through the application process. Gathering the information required to apply is simple and straightforward. After all, the FTZ program exists to increase efficiencies, not slow them down.
Once an application is complete, Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone will submit it on your behalf to the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board in Washington, DC. The FTZ Board staff reviews and processes all applications, typically within six months.
If your application is approved, your company may begin using FTZ procedures at the factory, warehouse, or distribution center after “activation” is granted from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Where can I find duty rates for specific products?
Duty rates are listed by product and country of origin in the U.S. Customs Harmonized Tariff Schedule available online here. Because product categories are very specific, a licensed customs broker should be contacted for assistance.
How does my company get started?
