INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Aviation
Stands for Flexibility in DFW
S
itting atop the list for both the total amount of
merchandise received and exports in the top 25 states
for foreign-trade zone activity is the great state of
Texas. While oil and petroleum make up 80 percent,
by value, of the products that come through foreign-trade zones,
or FTZs, in Texas, other electronics, electrical machinery and
consumer products also constitute tens of millions of dollars of
business that comes through the state, according to the Report
of the Foreign-Trade Zones Board that went to the U.S. Congress
from the Department of Commerce this summer.
But for once, says Bill Methenitis, global director of Customs
and International Trade for Ernst & Young, the value in what we
have here in North Texas is not about being bigger. Rather, it’s
about flexibility.
“What’s important for business is that there is a huge amount
of flexibility in this area. The zones, particularly DFW Airport,
had the forethought to arrange that flexibility so it exists over a
large geographic area,” explained Methenitis. “You now have
eight counties that have been approved for foreign-trade zones.
Any business that wants to use that has the ability to do so via a
short-form access that the government turns around in 30 days.
Nowhere else in the country is there a better environment to
conduct business internationally.”
“It’s due to the size of the zones, the background and
knowledge that FTZs have here,” noted Kathy Wilkins, vice
president of Alliance Operating Services. “Customs in Texas is
very familiar with the zone program. We get a lot less push-back
because they understand it, even more so than other areas of the
country. We have distribution, food, manufacturing, assembly,
every kind of component you might need.”
16
www.ntc-dfw.org
Winter/Spring 2015
Perhaps it is not surprising
in a state known for its
love of all things larger and
bigger. In the North Texas
area alone are several FTZs
larger than those in many