2011 Assembly Joint Resolution 112
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: honoring the Port of Milwaukee as Grantee for Foreign-Trade Zone No. 41 and supporting the inclusion of nine additional Wisconsin counties in the zone.
Whereas, under the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of June 18, 1934, foreign-trade zones were created to facilitate international trade and increase the global competitiveness of U.S. based companies; and
Whereas, a foreign-trade zone is a designated location in the United States within which duty-free treatment is accorded to items that are processed in foreign-trade zones and then re-exported, and duty payment is deferred on items until they are brought out of the foreign-trade zone for sale in the U.S. market; and
Whereas, prior to any merchandise being admitted under foreign-trade zone procedures, approval is granted by the Foreign-Trade Zones Board within the U.S. Department of Commerce, and activation of this status is granted by local U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials; and
Whereas, on September 29, 1978, the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board granted approval to the Foreign-Trade Zone of Greater Milwaukee, Inc., to establish Foreign-Trade Zone No. 41 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and
Whereas, On August 31, 2011, the Port of Milwaukee, as Grantee for Foreign-Trade Zone No. 41, was approved for the expedited program known as Alternative Site Framework for the counties of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha; and
Whereas, on February 9, 2012, the Port of Milwaukee Board of Harbor Commissioners passed a resolution to apply to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to expand its service area to include the nine counties of Walworth, Rock, Jefferson, Waukesha, Dodge, Washington, Ozaukee, Fond du Lac, and Sheboygan, all satisfying the adjacency requirement that they lie within 60 miles or 90-minutes driving-time of the port of entry; and
Whereas, a variety of activities can be conducted in a foreign-trade zone, including manufacturing, assembling, packaging, distributing, sorting, testing, labeling, repairing, combining with foreign or domestic content, and processing; and
Whereas, the public benefits of a foreign-trade zone include facilitating and expediting international trade; providing special customs procedures as a public service to help firms conduct international trade-related operations in competition with foreign plants; encouraging and facilitating exports; attracting offshore activity and encouraging retention of domestic activity; assisting state and local economic development efforts; and creating employment opportunities; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature support the application to expand the service area of the Port of Milwaukee's Foreign-Trade Zone No. 41 to include nine additional Wisconsin counties and commend the Port of Milwaukee as Grantee for Foreign-Trade Zone No. 41 for its contribution to increased economic development opportunities in Wisconsin, and for its commitment to increasing Wisconsin's ability to compete in the global marketplace.
