Niagara Foreign Trade Zone Announced
On April 15, 2016 on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, along with Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, announced the designation of the Niagara Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Point, serving the region's 12 municipalities from east of Hamilton to the United States border.
To foster a supportive business climate, we need to help spur innovation and investment and open up international markets. This Point will serve as a one-stop shop for businesses to access information on Canada's FTZ policies and programs. This is the first FTZ Point established in Ontario.
The FTZ Point will promote Niagara as a hub for international trade and will attract foreign and domestic investment.
Designating a FTZ Point in Niagara aligns with the Government of Canada's priorities to help businesses integrate into foreign markets and global value chains.
The Niagara FTZ Point will provide streamlined information on the Government of Canada's tax and tariff export-related programs that can make it easier for businesses looking to expand and export.
FTZ programming includes, for example, the Duty Deferral Program, the Drawback Program, the Customs Bonded Warehouse Program, the Export Distribution Centre Program and the Exporters of Processing Services Program. To establish the Niagara FTZ Point, Niagara Region partnered with the Niagara Development Corridor Partnership Inc. (NDCPI), Niagara's business community, Brock University, Niagara College, and its 12 local municipalities. A task force of federal, provincial and municipal representatives will meet regularly with regional industry exporters.
This designation supports the Niagara region's plans to leverage its central position, high-quality infrastructure, favourable business environment and world-renowned location to further lead the region and Canada into international markets.
More information on this announcement can be found at news.gc.ca
