Foreign Trade Zone

Foreign Trade Zone

The Greater Santa Cruz County hosting FTZ 60 continues to blossom as a crossroads for trade. FTZ 60 is geographically situated to serve local, regional and global markets. The area is within 500 miles of these major markets and ports. Long Beach/LA; Albuquerque; San Diego; Las Vegas; Guaymas, MX; El Paso; Hermosillo, MX; Yuma; Phoenix. Santa Cruz County, which encompasses FTZ 60, is positioned at the United States southern entry of the CANAMEX trade corridor connecting Western Canada with Mexico’s Pacific Coast and Mexico City. FTZ 60 provides the best location for businesses need to collaborate with Mexico’s West Coast supply chain. Average manufacturing costs in Mexico are now almost 20 percent lower than in China.
To learn more about Santa Cruz County’s Foreign Trade Zone 60, visit the Nogales Economic Development Foundation website.

Unique Advantage

FTZ 60 will benefit more and more as the thriving manufacturing belt that has sprung up on the border between Mexico and the United States continues to grow. The FTZ 60 region is poised to be a beneficiary of the fallout from wage increases in China that have driven former offshored manufacturing plants back to the American continent. Average manufacturing costs in Mexico are now almost 20 percent lower than in China. (Stratfor, 2015). Businesses that locate in FTZ 60 have a unique advantage of the historical shift in trade taking place today between Mexico and the United States.

The Port of Guaymas, only 241 miles from Nogales, is already referred to as “Arizona’s port,” especially with shipments connected to Arizona’s mining industry. FTZ 60 will benefit directly from the lower labor costs of the Port of Guaymas versus the unionized costs incurred by trade through Long Beach Port.

To learn about the benefits of Foreign Trade Zone 60, visit the Nogales Economic Development Foundation website.