Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ)

Manufacturers in Doña Ana County who want to take advantage of federal foreign trade zone (FTZ) benefits can now do so from any location within Doña Ana County’s 3,804 square miles of jurisdiction. Doña Ana County successfully applied for Alternative Site Framework (ASF) and is now able to establish an FTZ anywhere within the county.

Alternative Site Framework (ASF) allows the designees of FTZ’s, usually municipalities and counties, more flexibility in determining where an FTZ can be established. In the past, the FTZ consisted of three site-specific areas concentrated near the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.

Designated as Foreign-Trade Zone No. 197, Doña Ana County is the first of New Mexico’s 33 counties to secure the county-wide option.

Although physically located on U.S. soil, FTZs are considered not within the U.S. Customs space for tariff purposes. Copies of the regulations pursuant to the FTZ are available in the Doña Ana County Community Development Department.