Don't know if this is applicable here, but Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZs) are secure areas under U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) supervision that are generally considered outside CBP territory upon activation . Located in or near CBP ports of entry, they are the United States' version of what are known internationally as free-trade zones. This means that items can be transported into the U.S., stored at and/or worked on (enhanced, rebuilt, whatever, or just stored) and then at some time transported out of the U.S., without ever being inside the U.S. for import tax treatment. About every sea port has FTZs, as do many of the larger airports.