Foreign-Trade Zone #121 at Albany, NY

In 1985, CDRPC was granted the authority to establish a General-Purpose Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ #121) in the Region by the Foreign-Trade Zones Board of the U.S. Department of Commerce. State enabling legislation extended CDRPC's FTZ program to Fulton and Montgomery counties in 1991, to Columbia and Greene counties in 1992, and to Warren and Washington counties in 2004.

Zone Administrator. The Zone Administrator is Capital District Trade Strategies, Inc. All potential Zone Operators and Users should contact CDTS for assistance in determining their individual costs and benefits from Zone operations.
        Capital District Trade Strategies, Inc.
        100 State Street, Suite 210
        Albany, NY 12207
        Phone: 518-694-8676
        Fax: 518-694-8678
        info@tradestrategies.us

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General-Purpose Foreign-Trade Zone Sites

Site A at the Northeastern Industrial Park {Currently Active}

The Northeastern Industrial Park is a public warehousing complex consisting of 551 acres and 2,400,000 square feet of building floor space in one-story structures.

The FTZ Site includes Buildings 1, 10, 11, and 18, plus a 7.1 acre parcel of vacant land. Building 11 has an area of 181,780 square feet divided into 5 bays. Building 18 has 181,780 square feet divided into five bays of unequal size. Building 1 has 86,400 square feet of FTZ space (all of Bays 3 & 4) and Building 10 has 80,000 square feet of FTZ space (all of Bays 2 & 3).

The Northeastern Industrial Park is enclosed by a 6-foot high cyclone chain link fence with barbed wire on top. All access is controlled through the security force gate.

There are two rail lines into the Industrial Park, the Conrail and the Delaware & Hudson Railroads.

FTZ #121 Site A Operator: Distribution Unlimited, Inc.
     Warehousing - Outside Storage - Third Party Logistics (3PL) - Distribution Services - Cold Storage - Transportation - Bonded Warehousing

Site B at the Rotterdam Industrial Park {Currently Active}

The Rotterdam Industrial Park consists of 235 acres and 3,600,000 square feet of building floor space in one-story structures.

The FTZ Site at the Rotterdam Industrial Park includes all of Building 3 and 22,400 square feet of Building 1 (all of Bay #5 and an adjacent portion of Bay #4), for a total area of approximately 270,894 square feet.

Rotterdam Industrial Park is completely enclosed by a 6' high cyclone chain link fence with barbed wire on top. Access is through two gates, controlled by a 24-hour security force.

The Industrial Park is served by Conrail and all trucking companies in the area.

FTZ #121 Site B Operator: Distribution Unlimited, Inc.
     Warehousing - Outside Storage - Third Party Logistics (3PL) - Distribution Services - Cold Storage - Transportation - Bonded Warehousing

Site C at the Port of Albany {Currently Inactive}

The Port of Albany is located 124 miles north of New York City on east side of the Hudson River. It is a year-round, deep-water inland port. The Hudson River channel leading to the Port is 600 feet wide from New York City to Kingston and 400 feet wide to Albany, widening at bends. A turning basin, located on the Rensselaer side of the River is 700 feet wide and 1,200 feet long. The channel depth is 32 feet in soft material, and 34 feet in rock, to a point just north of the Port property.

The FTZ Site is located on the Rensselaer side of the Port of Albany. It has 35 acres of land area, 1,100 feet of operable wharfage, and 550 feet of concrete dock. In addition to the waterway, the Site is easily accessible via truck roads and is only 1 ½ miles from the nearest interstate highway interchange. There are also on-site rail lines connected to Conrail and the D &H. An 8' high wire security fence surrounds the entire Site.

Site D at the Crossroads Industrial Park {Currently Inactive}

The FTZ Site is located on Lots 4 and 5 of the Crossroads Industrial Park, 178 Corporate Drive, Johnstown, NY 12095. It consists of a 41,475 square foot industrial structure with a 36,000 square foot storage area for container cargo (Lot 5), and 17,015 square feet of manufacturing space in the Crossroads Incubator Building (Lot 4). The site is leased to and controlled by the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation. The Site is located within the Gloversville Economic Development Zone, which makes available certain tax credits and abatements and utility price reductions for qualified companies.

Foreign-Trade Subzones

Foreign-Trade Subzone #121A {Currently Active}

The owner and operator of Subzone #121A is AMRI, Inc., which acquired the former owner, Organichem, which was previously owned by Nycomed, Inc., which purchased the facility from Sanofi Winthrop who obtained the original grant of authority.

The Subzone Site is located at 33 Riverside Avenue, Rensselaer, NY 12144, and consists of 23 acres adjacent to Site C of the General-Purpose Zone. There are 21 buildings on the Site containing a total of 261,000 square feet. The Subzone is served by truck common carriers and has immediate access to Interstates I-87, I-88, and I-90.

Foreign-Trade Subzone #121B {Currently Inactive}

The owner and operator of Subzone #121B is the BASF Corporation.

The Subzone Site is located at 36 Riverside Avenue, Rensselaer, NY 12144, and consists of 80 acres adjacent to Site C of the General-Purpose Zone. The Subzone is served by truck common carriers and has immediate access to Interstates I-87, I-88, and I-90. BASF is closing the Rensselaer plant in late 2000.

Foreign-Trade Zone #121 Sites Map (32Kb GIF)

CDRPC has been authorized by the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to establish General-Purpose FTZ Sites and Subzones within the Albany Customs Port District.

Albany Customs Port District Jurisdiction (35Kb Landscape GIF)

Brief Foreign-Trade Zone FAQ

What is a Foreign-Trade Zone

A Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) is a site within the United States, in or near a U.S. Customs Port of Entry, where foreign and domestic merchandise is generally considered to be in international commerce (i.e., outside of U.S. Customs territory).

Foreign or domestic merchandise may enter a Foreign-Trade Zone without a formal Customs entry or the payment of Customs duties or government excise taxes. Merchandise entering a Zone may be:

Stored Displayed Tested
Sampled Repaired Cleaned
Salvaged Destroyed Relabeled
Repackaged Manipulated Mixed
Processed Assembled Manufactured

If the final product is exported, no U.S. Customs duties or excise taxes are levied. If the final product is imported into the United States, Customs duties and excise taxes are due only at the time of transfer from the FTZ. The duties paid are the lower of those applicable to the final product itself or its component parts (inverted tariff option).

Foreign-Trade Subzones may be established to extend FTZ benefits to individual manufacturing firms at their existing plant locations.

The purpose of Foreign-Trade Zones and Subzones is to stimulate international trade and create jobs and investment in the United States rather than abroad.

Considerations for Using a Foreign-Trade Zone or Subzone

A Company should consider the use of Foreign-Trade Zone Status if any of the following conditions exist:

  1. Imported merchandise is subject to U.S. Customs Duty.
  2. Imported merchandise is to be stored for an uncertain period of time.
  3. Imported merchandise needs to be inspected, repaired, destroyed, repackaged, marked, or relabeled before entry into the domestic market or for re-export.
  4. Imported merchandise is subject to U.S. quota restrictions.
  5. Products are assembled, manipulated, processed, or manufactured using imported materials or a combination of imported and domestic materials.
  6. An inverted tariff situation exists for the finished product (i.e., duty rates are higher for imported components of the finished product than they would be for the finished product itself).
  7. All or part of the imported merchandise will be re-exported.
  8. Imported merchandise is commonly displayed to potential buyers prior to purchase.

Advantages of Using a Foreign-Trade Zone or Subzone

For Companies which use imported goods, Foreign-Trade Zone Status may provide some or all of the following benefits:

  1. Cash flow and interest expense savings related to postponement of Customs duty and excise tax payments.
  2. Elimination of Customs duty on items which are re-exported.
  3. Avoidance of Customs drawback process (i.e., applying for a rebate of previously paid Customs duty on foreign-sourced items which are re-exported).
  4. Inverted tariff option (i.e., selecting the lower of the raw material or the finished product duty for foreign-sourced components of goods sold domestically).
  5. Made in U.S.A. marking.
  6. Repair or destruction of defective foreign goods within the Zone.
  7. Expedited Customs clearance.
  8. Better security.
  9. Reduction in insurance, bond, and transportation costs.
  10. Avoidance of quotas (in limited cases).
  11. Exhibition (Trade Mart).

Foreign-Trade Subzone Application Process

  1. The Company submits a petition to CDRPC.
  2. The Company prepares an application using consultants or doing the work itself with CDRPC assistance.
  3. CDRPC submits the application to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the Company. Application fees are $4,000 for non-manufacturing or manufacturing/processing with fewer than three products and $6,000 for manufacturing/processing with three or more products. The normal time from application submission to Subzone activation is 12 months for manufacturing reviews.
  4. The Foreign-Trade Zones Board staff conducts a preliminary review of the Subzone application.
  5. The Foreign-Trade Zones Board publishes a notice of the application in the Federal Register and solicits public comments.
  6. The Foreign-Trade Zones Board approves the application if all requirements are met and issues a grant of authority for the Subzone.
  7. The Company and CDRPC execute a Grantee-Operator Agreement, which includes an annual service charge payable to CDRPC.
  8. The Company applies to the U.S. Customs Service Albany District Office for Subzone activation after a review of inventory and security systems.
  9. Final approval by the Customs Service and activation of Subzone operations.

FTZ # 121 – The Capital District Foreign-Trade Zone Tariff

General-Purpose Zone Site Annual Operator/User Fee
Less than 15,000 sq. ft. of activated Zone space $  6,000
15,000 – 30,000 sq. ft. $10,500
30,000 – 45,000 sq. ft. $15,000
45,000 – 75,000 sq. ft. $19,500
More than 75,000 sq. ft. $24,000
Subzone Site Annual Operator/User Fee
Less than 15,000 sq. ft. of activated Zone space $  6,000
15,000 – 30,000 sq. ft. $10,500
30,000 – 45,000 sq. ft. $15,000
45,000 – 75,000 sq. ft. $19,500
More than 75,000 sq. ft. $24,000
Zone Boundary or Scope of Authority Application Fees (per site)
Minor Boundary Modification $  5,000
Manufacturing Application $  5,000
Subzone Application $10,000
Major Zone Expansion (per site) $15,000
Revised 19 Mar 08

For more detailed information or to initiate an inquiry or application, please contact the Zone Administrator:
        Capital District Trade Strategies, Inc.
        100 State Street, Suite 210
        Albany, NY 12207
        Phone: 518-694-8676
        Fax: 518-694-8678
        info@tradestrategies.us

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