Metals manufacturer enters foreign trade zone agreement with Mesa

A metals manufacturer with plans to expand its operations into Mesa has entered an agreement with the city to operate in a foreign trade zone.

The Mesa City Council unanimously approved the operator agreement with JX Advanced Metals USA at its Monday meeting. The agreement was part of the council’s consent agenda in which all items are handled through one motion and vote. The council issued no comments on the agreement.

JX Advanced Metals USA supports the semiconductor industry. It has been operating in Chandler since the early 1990s. According to a staff report, the “Mesa location will gradually more than double the production capacity of the Chandler plant, allowing them to serve an expanding customer base in the U.S. and Europe.”

The company will manufacture, store, distribute, recycle scrap and export from the proposed 279,000 square foot foreign trade zone site at 10036 E. Germann Road.

“City of Mesa believes that this expansion to Mesa and subsequent FTZ designation will have an overall positive economic impact on Maricopa County,” the report continued. “The increase in business investment and activity resulting from this new FTZ site will benefit by creating jobs, generating additional tax revenue and facilitating new growth opportunities.”

The company received FTZ site status approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce Foreign-Trade Zones Board on May 12. The operator agreement with Mesa is the next step to FTZ-site activation.

JX Advanced Metals USA will pay Mesa a one-time activation fee of $1,000, as well as an annual operator fee of $5,000.

By operating in a FTZ, the company can take advantage of deferred, reduced or even eliminated import-export duties on foreign materials and components used for manufacturing and assembling.

Companies operating within FTZs must still pay local property taxes, utility costs, development fees and other taxes and obligations.

Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.