U.S. Customs and Borders Protection Form 214 is the application for admission of goods to a Foreign-Trade Zone. Foreign Trade Zones allow American companies to import goods for use as components of a finished product which is to be re-exported without paying any duties on their original importation.
In fact, if you import a product and then later and export that same good, you are eligible for a customs duty drawback, a complete refund of the original duties paid. Because the goods imported into the U.S. as components of manufactured goods intended for export, those goods would be eligible for a customs duty drawback in any case. By creating Foreign Trade Zones for this type of processing work to be conducted, the government allows the manufacturers to avoid paying the duties in the first place. This lowers their capital requirements and makes American manufacturers more competitive in the global marketplace.
