Foreign-Trade Zones: Encouraging activity and investment in the U.S.
Learn about Foreign Trade Zones at www.trade.gov/about-ftzs
Pensacola-Escambia County Promotion & Development Commission (PEDC),
grantee of FTZ 249, submitted an application to the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ)
Board requesting authority to reorganize and expand the zone under the
alternative site framework (ASF) adopted by
the FTZ Board (15 CFR 400.2(c)). The ASF is an option for grantees for
the establishment or reorganization of zones and can permit
significantly greater flexibility in the designation of new subzones or
“usage-driven” FTZ sites for operators/users located within a
grantee’s “service area” in the context of the FTZ Board’s standard
2,000-acre activation limit for a zone. The application was submitted
pursuant to the Foreign-Trade Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a-
81u), and the regulations of the Board (15 CFR part 400). It was
formally docketed on May 26, 2021.
FTZ 249 was approved by the FTZ Board on May 23, 2001 (Board Order
1167, 66 FR 30408, June 6, 2001. The current zone includes the
following sites: Site 1 (40 acres)–Port of Pensacola, 700 S. Barracks
Street, Pensacola; Site 2 (1,400 acres)–Pensacola Regional Airport
Complex, 2430 Airport Boulevard, Pensacola; Site 3 (70 acres)–
Pensacola Shipyard Marine Complex, 700 South Myrick Street, Pensacola;
Site 4 (10 acres)–FDC Industrial Warehouse, 10 Spruce Street,
Pensacola; and, Site 5 (140 acres)–Century Industrial Park, Escambia
County Road 4 and Industrial Boulevard, Century.
The grantee’s proposed service area under the ASF would be
Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties, Florida, as described in
the application. If approved, the grantee would be able to serve sites
throughout the service area based on companies’ needs for FTZ
designation. The application indicates that the proposed service area
is within and adjacent to the Pensacola U.S. Customs and Border
Protection port of entry.
The applicant is requesting authority to reorganize its existing
zone to include Sites 1, 2, 3 and 5 as “magnet” sites and that Site 4
be removed. The ASF allows for the possible exemption of one magnet
site from the “sunset” time limits that generally apply to sites
under the ASF, and the applicant proposes that Site 1 be so exempted.
The applicant is also requesting approval of the following “usage-
driven” sites for SnackCrate, Inc.: Site 6 (1 acre)–201 East Wright
Street, Pensacola; Site 7 (1 acre)–3330 Bill Metzger Lane, Pensacola;
and, Site 8 (1 acre)–3867 Palafox Street, Pensacola. The application
would have no impact on FTZ 249’s previously authorized subzone.
In accordance with the FTZ Board’s regulations, Christopher Kemp of
the FTZ Staff is designated examiner to evaluate and analyze the facts
and information presented in the application and case record and to
report findings and recommendations to the FTZ Board.
Public comment is invited from interested parties. Submissions
shall be addressed to the FTZ Board’s Executive Secretary and sent to:
[email protected]. The closing period for their receipt is August 2, 2021.
Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted during the
foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period
to August 16, 2021.
A copy of the application will be available for public inspection in the “Reading Room” section of the FTZ Board’s website, which is accessible via www.trade.gov/ftz. For further information, contact Christopher Kemp at [email protected].