Ex-Chanute area earns designation as foreign trade zone
RANTOUL – Rantoul has a new incentive to offer businesses now that part of the former Chanute Air Force Base has been designated a subzone of the Peoria foreign trade zone.
Companies can make use of the subzone to defer, reduce or eliminate customs duties on products coming in from abroad.
"This lowers costs for businesses, increases Rantoul's competitiveness in the global market and strengthens employment and capital investment opportunities for the whole region," said Vickie Clark, chief operating officer for the Economic Development Council for Central Illinois, in a release.
Village representatives plan to gather this afternoon at the Easton Bell Sports hangar, 735 Pacesetter Drive, to mark the designation.
The subzone includes 395 acres bounded by Veterans Parkway, Century Boulevard, Chandler Road and the Rantoul airport.
Foreign trade zones and subzones are considered to be outside U.S. Customs territory for purposes of customs duty payment, according to the U.S. Import Administration.
That means no duties have to be paid on imported components that enter the zone and are processed there into finished products and then exported.
For imported products that come into the zone and are processed and eventually sold in the U.S. market, duties don't have to be paid until the finished products leave the zone.
Village Administrator Bruce Sandahl said the Rantoul subzone provides advantages to several local businesses and strengthens efforts to bring new manufacturing and warehousing operations to town.
He noted the subzone is already part of an enterprise zone and a tax increment financing district, giving businesses additional advantages.
Robert Bruce, Rantoul's economic development director, said several Rantoul companies have expressed "considerable" interest in the subzone.
The community has more than 200,000 square feet of flexible warehouse space, and the subzone could help bring new job opportunities to the village, he said.
Rantoul has discussed the virtues of establishing a foreign trade subzone for years.
Several businesses have already taken advantage of the Peoria foreign trade zone by establishing subzones of their own. Those companies include Caterpillar, Mitsubishi Motors, DuPont and Rockwell Automation.
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