Unlocking International Trade Advantages

FTZ 87 has five general-purpose sites and several activated subzones. Foreign-Trade Zone benefits, combined with the Port’s strategic location on the Gulf of Mexico, offer significant advantages for international shipping.

A foreign-trade zone is a secured area located within the United States, but technically considered to be outside the territory of U.S. Customs. The foreign-trade zone program is designed to lower the cost of doing business and stimulate economic growth and development in the U.S. by allowing companies to defer, reduce, or eliminate U.S. Customs duties. Certain types of merchandise may be brought into a zone without a formal Customs entry, import quotas, and most other import restrictions.

Foreign-trade zones were authorized by the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of 1934. Oversight is provided by the Foreign-Trade Zones Board, an independent agency within the Department of Commerce. Local U.S. Customs & Border Protection offices provide supervision and control as the representative of the FTZ Board.

There are two types of zones for FTZ 87:

  1. General Purpose Zone. Established for multiple activities by multiple users.
  2. Subzone. A special-purpose zone for use by one company for a specific activity

Merchandise entering a zone may be:

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

FTZ zone users may be eligible for:

  • Delaying payment of U.S. Customs duties and excise taxes until goods leave the zone to enter U.S. markets.
  • Paying duty only on the value of imported components when a company uses a combination of domestic and imported materials to manufacture or process goods within the zone.
  • Reducing U.S. Customs duties on goods manufactured or processed in the zone when imported components have a higher duty rate than the finished goods (inverted tariff).
  • Eliminating U.S. Customs duties and fees on goods that a company re-exports.
  • Holding excess goods in the zone to avoid import quota restrictions, then releasing them during the next quota period.
  • Transferring in-bond merchandise between FTZs for manufacturing purposes and deferring duty until the product enters the U.S. marketplace.
  • Paying reduced or no duties on nonconforming, damaged, scrapped, or obsolete components or goods.
  • Lowering other costs, such as inventory, insurance, and cost of sales, as no duty is paid on labor, overhead, or profit from FTZ production operations.

Foreign Trade Zone No. 87

FTZ 87 consists of five (5) general-purpose sites as described below:

SITE 1:  40.93 acres located inside the general cargo area of the Port of Lake Charles at 150 Marine Street.

SITE 2:  391.73 +/- acre industrial area on the Calcasieu River Ship Channel, 12 miles from the general cargo area, for industrial and chemical operations, on Highway 384.

SITE 3:  11 +/- acre warehouse facility located at Fournet and Ford Streets in Lake Charles.

SITE 5:  365.27 +/- acres Port’s Industrial Park East on Highway 397, 1 mile south of Interstate 10.

SITE 6:  1628.27 acres at Chennault International Airport, located east of the Interstate 210 Loop, south of Broad Street and west of La. 397.

FTZ 87 activated subzones are:

Subzone 87A: Phillips 66.
Subzone 87B: Citgo.
Subzone 87C: Halliburton Energy Services.
Subzone 87F: Westlake Chemical.

For more information, please contact:

Jenna Greiner
FTZ Manager

Port of Lake Charles
P.O. Box 3753
Lake Charles, LA 70602
337-493-3544
Fax:  (337) 493-3502
jgreiner@portlc.com