Ogdensburg free trade zone expansion approved

St. Lawrence County has a new lure to entice businesses interested in international commerce.

The U.S. Foreign Trade Zone Administrative Board announced Friday it approved the expansion of Ogdensburg’s Foreign Trade Zone 118 to all of St. Lawrence County, state Sens. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, and Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome, said in a joint news release.

“This will give our region an advantage when competing with other communities in Canada and across the US for manufacturing and other jobs, and can mean more work for St. Lawrence County and Northern New York families,” Mrs. Ritchie said. “By expanding the existing foreign trade zone to include all of St. Lawrence County, we can encourage more manufacturers and other businesses to come to Northern New York.”

Previously, the zone encompassed a small area of 13 acres at the Port of Ogdensburg and 57 acres in the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority Commerce Park light industrial park.

Wade A. Davis, the Authority’s executive director, said with this approval, the zone will extend to an area within a 60-mile radius or 90-minute drive of the port.

“Use of this new zone tool will ultimately create more new jobs in the region” Mr. Davis said in an OBPA news release. “It has taken over two years to receive the appropriate governmental approvals for the new zone tool, and we look forward to using it for the benefit of north country firms.”

Foreign trade zones provide special exemptions from U.S. Customs procedures to businesses engaged in international trade. The measure will allow firms from around the world to ship merchandise into any business in St. Lawrence County and exempt it from taxes and duty until it is made into finished products or shipped out of the zone. In addition, when a product leaves the zone, it is charged a lower tariff rate than those that do not go through foreign trade zones.

“Increasing the ability to use the foreign trade zone offers potential cost savings and process enhancements and helps in making St. Lawrence County a more competitive location,” said Patrick J. Kelly, chief executive officer of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency.

James E. Reagen, a spokesman for Mrs. Ritchie, said the expansion should help municipalities, the OBPA and Mr. Kelly attract businesses to the north country.

“Hopefully businesses around the county will look at how they can use a foreign trade zone to their benefit,” he said. “It allows a lot of companies to reduce their costs and gives local business a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”

Mrs. Ritchie and Mr. Griffo cosponsored Senate legislation calling for the expansion. It was passed by the state Legislature last year and signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in August. The bill was sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, who could not be reached late Friday afternoon for comment.

Congressman William D. Owens also aided the effort by lobbying the U.S. Foreign Trade Zone Board for swift approval of the expansion, said his spokesman, Sean R. Magers.