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Press Release: New Bay County Airport Seeks Foreign Trade Zone Status
By Guest | November 11, 2008
Press Release
AIRPORT AUTHORITY DIRECTS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO SEEK FOREIGN TRADE ZONE STATUS FOR NEW AIRPORT
Panama City, FL (Nov. 10, 2008) – The Panama City – Bay County International Airport Authority has directed Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis to evaluate the options for establishing a Foreign trade zone at the new international airport currently under construction in West Bay.
“The airport board believes it is important to establish a Foreign Trade Zone at the new airport in order to maximize its economic development potential,” said Airport Authority chairman Joe Tannehill. “Having a foreign trade status at the new airport will put us in another category altogether and be an important differentiator in competing for new jobs and business expansions.”
The action taken by the Airport Authority is in consideration of extensive statistics documenting the importance of foreign trade to the Florida economy. It noted that establishing a Foreign Trade Zone at the new Panama City - Bay County airport would make the new facility one of 10 airports in Florida.
Airport board members agreed that Foreign Trade Zone in West Bay would benefit the community and the region by facilitating and expediting international trade, providing special customs procedures as a public service to help firms conduct business, encouraging and facilitating exports, attracting offshore activity, assisting state/local economic development efforts and creating employment opportunities.
The action taken directs Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis to begin immediately preliminary work to create a Foreign Trade Zone at the new international airport in WestBay.
Specifically, the board asked Curtis to develop options for the airport board to consider concerning the size and boundaries of the trade zone, including a discussion of the costs and benefits associated with each option presented. Further, the board asked Curtis to investigate public/private partnerships to stimulate intermodal infrastructure development.
Florida Trade Facts:
The U.S. is the world’s largest trading nation, exporting nearly $1.3 trillion in goods and services and more than one-fifth of the growth in U.S. GDP depends on exports. (1)
Manufacturing exports support an estimated 5.2 million jobs, including 1 in 5 manufacturing jobs, and jobs supported by goods exports pay 13-18% higher than the average wage. (2)
More than 30,000 companies export from Florida locations, including more than 28,000 small and medium-sized businesses. (3)
Florida’s export shipments of merchandise in 2007 totaled $45 billion, up 80 percent from $25 billion in 2003, ranking sixth among the states in terms of total exports in 2007, and exporting to 222 foreign destinations. (4)
1 - Office of the United States Trade Representative, 2005 data (latest available).
2 - Office of the United States Trade Representative, 2002 data (latest available).
3- International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division (2006 data).
4 - Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division (2007 data).
Contact:
The Panama City Bay County International Airport
Randy Curtis, Executive Director, 850-763-6751 ext. 203
Category: Bay County Airport |
December 4th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Indeed, that’s the exact ticket!
Without investment interest, this effort will not get very far.
The key is to get the larger sovereign developers and fund managers here in the UAE interested in investing in the FTZ.
It’s the old trick of selling somebody something they’re used to buying. Sort of like J.P. Morgan did with the Brits back in the 1870s and 1880’s vis-à-vis the railroads. The Brits had been investing in railroads throughout their empire as a means by which to engage in major colonial plunder, so they well aware of the potential return and were keen to hear JP’s proposal. The country was in the depths of a depression after the civil war fiasco and there simply wasn’t enough capital available to build the railroads. The government basically deeded six miles of land on either side of the RR’s proposed routes to the railroads but there wasn’t enough capital available to finance the land sales needed to pay for the railroads. Old JP went to the Brits with hat in hand and convinced them to put up millions to finance the westward expansion. That’s what made the house that JP built. All sorts of people who had no banking experience whatsoever got into the territorial banking business and made all sorts of dubious loans but in the process they enabled the building of the railroads. The dubious loans eventually led to a well documented panic, but both JP and the Brits made out very well.
The Kandura-clad gents in the UAE have already invested in free zones in their countries and also in Poti, Georgia. There was a foiled attempt by the Dubai Ports Authority to manage one of the NY/NJ Port Authority facilities that was eventually shot down in Congress, so I don’t think that they need to be involved in management. However, there should be no opposition to these guys investing with some return in mind, especially if everybody in the US is afraid to take their hands out of their pockets. Those with whom I’ve discussed this generally are of the opinion that they will not be ready to invest until 2009.
These free zones have done real well around here (the UAE) and I think that setting one up in that part of Florida would simply be killer.
Basically, anybody can set up a tax-free enterprise within the zones. Around here (UAE) they are usually connected to either an airport or a container port. They have their own customs setup at both the port side and the connection back to the host country. They usually have their own operating authority that regulates things, including issuance of development orders and building permits. Companies that setup in these zones can engage in all sorts of activities and not pay any taxes. So foreign entities, such as Airbus, could setup huge assembly plants on such a zone and avoid taxation (for example, Airbus could float in major fuselage components by barge from Mobile and fly in other smaller components). Now, their employees have to pay taxes and everybody who works there has to live someplace and buy groceries etc. It could make the Northwest Florida economy hum like a bee hive.
December 4th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Wow. That’s amazing that you know all about this, George. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.