CBRM designated as Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Point by Feds

goCapeBreton.com Team Follow Me

Posted this 2016-05-16 2:28 PM ADT (updated 2016-05-27 9:59 AM ADT)

May 14, 2016 – Sydney, N.S. – Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Today, the Honourable Mark Eyking, Member of Parliament for Sydney-Victoria, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced that the Government of Canada has created a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Point in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM).

The creation of the CBRM FTZ Point will provide businesses with easy access to information on Canada’s tax and tariff trade-related policies and programs. Instead of having to search for information from numerous sources, potential investors can get this information through the FTZ Point, Business Cape Breton. Working effectively with these investors will help to spur innovation and open up international markets.

Canada’s federal programs that benefit companies through the FTZ Point are: the Duty Deferral Program, the Drawback Program, the Customs Bonded Warehouse Program, the Export Distribution Centre Program, and the Exporters of Processing Services Program. These programs serve to strengthen the region’s international trade capacity and enhance its ability to attract foreign and domestic investment.

Quick Facts:

There are currently six FTZ Points in Canada: Edmonton (AB), Calgary (AB), Winnipeg (MB), Niagara (ON), Halifax (NS) and CBRM (NS).
The CBRM FTZ Point encompasses the Port of Sydney, the JA Douglas McCurdy Airport, and the surrounding logistics and warehousing capabilities.
The Port of Sydney is the first port-of-call on mainland North America for vessels transiting the Suez Canal and acts as a gateway to the Great Lakes. With sea, road and air transportation, the multimodal options allow for shipping and receiving flexibility.
The duty-free treatment of manufacturing or processing equipment reduces costs and increases profitability of investors’ global operations. This is particularly important to small and medium-sized foreign investors who choose Canada as a place to invest and as a base from which to operate and export.

Contacts:

Alex Smith

Director, Communications and Outreach

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

902-426-9417 / 902-830-3839 (cell)

Email: [email protected]

Eileen Lannon Oldford

Chief Executive Officer
Business Cape Breton
902-371-5530
Email: [email protected]

Posted by goCapeBreton.com Team
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CBRM FTZ Point to be 1 of 6 in Canada. Includes Port of Sydney, McCurdy Airport, and the surrounding logistics and warehousing capabilities.

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madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2016-05-16 4:21 PM ADT Reply 0 0 As I understand it we were not designated a Free Trade Zone, since the entire country is a Free Trade Zone, but a Free Trade Zone Point, which you do mention in your article but the headline is misleading. A FTZPoint is a communications node which allows easier access to information about various government programs and regulations related to international trade. I suppose it is kind of like a community information centre for corporations. It does not change anything or allow actual trade access differently from the possibilities that were available the day before the Point was designated. Not explaining this, rather than basically reprinting the press release I read the other day, is quite a disappointment. Mary Campbell Follow Me 2016-05-16 5:49 PM ADT Reply 3 0 It's actually a "Foreign Trade Zone" (it's correct in the press release). For what it's worth... madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2016-05-16 5:55 PM ADT Reply 0 0 Thanks Mary! goCapeBreton.com Team My Post Follow Me 2016-05-17 12:23 AM ADT Reply 1 0 Headline fully corrected, thank you!
madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2016-05-16 4:49 PM ADT Reply 1 0 Thank you for changing the Headline. Just so that readers don't think I am crazy, your previous headline said that we were designated as a Free Trade Zone!
Joe Ward Follow Me 2016-05-16 6:53 PM ADT Reply 0 0 Ok, so I did a little more reading about it. I was thinking of it as a moderately positive development factor, until realizing that it's more of a neutral development. After seeing Madeline's clarifications, here was the good primer I found: http://www.fin.gc.ca/ftz-zf/index-eng.asp The CB Post quoted the mayor as saying: "Unlike other foreign trade zones in Canada, this one will cover the entire municipality" re: http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2016-05-14/article-4529529/Feds-create-foreign-trade-zone-for-CBRM/1 And, this is true, because apparently - as Madeline suggested - all of its component programs were already in place everywhere in Canada. A quick and simple layman's summary on what an "FTZ Point" is: A "task force" coordinated by a local development group that helps answer your questions about the program. So it sounds a bit like a tiny Access Nova Scotia, dropping into Mark Eyking's office for some help, or perhaps it'll be a local number and email to someone at Business Cape Breton who is up to speed on how to apply for the various programs. I was confused in thinking that it came with a competitive advantage that wasn't available in non-FTZ places in Canada. But that doesn't appear to be the case. Savvy business persons who operate businesses of the type that are eligible will already know how to access all of the benefits of the FTZ programs that are available everywhere in Canada already. And they can choose to do business in any place in Canada that meets their needs and still have all the advantages of FTZ. If I have this wrong, somebody please correct me. It certainly sounded like a much bigger and more promising announcement before doing a tiny bit of research. So I'd rate it as a neutral announcement in terms of competitive value to businesses. And I'd rate it moderately concerning if it's going to be the only port news leveraged by the mayor to promote up to voting day. (cont'd) Joe Ward Follow Me 2016-05-16 7:06 PM ADT Reply 0 0 Re: http://www.fin.gc.ca/ftz-zf/index-eng.asp I found the criteria interesting, as per the following extracted text: ### "What are the considerations for requests to establish an FTZ Point? Considerations for requests to establish an FTZ Point at a new location include: 1. An economic priority for the region (as identified by local/provincial governments) 2. Private sector leadership and commitment 3. Dedicated governance body (through legislation/incorporation) 4. Having secured local and provincial government support to participate in the task force 5. Favourable business environment 6. Available land 7. High quality infrastructure 8. Active participation in and connection to global supply chains 9. Access to a skilled labor force 10. Access to a multimodal transportation system" ### I've added numbers to the bullets for ease of reference. While I think we're just scraping by in terms of eligibility as defined by this points, they reminded me of a comment made on goCapeBreton. The comment was by Dan Yakimchuk. He noticed that the press release excluded references to our railway. It was curious to those who follow port development topics as it has been central to all of their business cases. But they left it out. If we look at "consideration" #7 and #10, we might have hints at why they left it out. The uncertain future of the railway and its deteriorating condition would make it a poor fit for both of those items. Unless there was a large injection of Federal money to fix it and replace all the bridges, etc. And perhaps they weren't quite ready to reference the rail line and then immediately have to answer questions about whether announcing the FTZ Point implies they'll be paying for the rails too. We should be able to handle #1, #3, #4, #6, and debatably #9 (i.e. we can't compete with the workforces of Quebec and Ontario for skill in warehousing and manufacturing). For #10, we don't have containers or rail. madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2016-05-16 8:02 PM ADT Reply 1 0 This is a reply to both part one and part two of your comment. The thing that really bothers me about all of this is that the announcement is not neutral at all if it serves to make the citizens believe something that is not true. I can't claim that this is all intentional, but my gut tells me that very few people will do the research you have done Joe, that the old club here knows that, but most people will remember the headline, and not understand at all why we are being so mean to Cecil. I have friends who tell me that "the people" really don't concern themselves much at all about politics, and if you asked them why they aren't upset about intentional manipulation of the smoke and mirrors type, they will look at you as if to say, well of course, since when did this not happen? But it makes my blood boil. I don't want everyone to drop their friends and families and suddenly become municipal activists, but I miss the communities we could become if we had leaders who cared about community development for real. Joe Ward Follow Me 2016-05-16 8:30 PM ADT Reply 1 0 Agree. I meant neutral in terms of the economic benefit it offers. I don't foresee any predictable change beyond perhaps creating a new staff position at Business Cape Breton. In terms of confusion about what it means, it likely rates very high. Eyking teased it as important first, then announced it. The mayor and the news media then treated it as a highly important achievement. So it's certainly a reasonable conclusion for most people who aren't that actively interested in politics or local development topics - that it must be some kind of big deal. I wasn't sure what it meant specifically prior to the announcement. And now that I've had the incentive to do a tiny bit of reading about it, I find it quite underwhelming. It would be nice to be corrected. Maybe I'm missing something? I wonder if there are any big case studies for the other zones.
Michael MacNeil Follow Me 2016-05-16 7:58 PM ADT Reply 0 0 Good idea I think. Just wondering how it affects Nova Scotia Power. Do they get cheaper coal by buying it from Cline or do they get cheaper coal from importing it now. trust me they will benefit one way or another madeline yakimchuk Follow Me 2016-05-16 8:05 PM ADT Reply 0 0 aren't they saving a million a month (I might be exaggerating) after the dredge they contributed a million only once to because they can move heavier, more laden coal ships now? This tells me that yes, they will roll with the punches if there are new punches they can roll with.