San José Foreign Trade Zone
and Sister Cities Program
Community and Economic Development Committee
Item (d)2
June 26, 2023
Joseph Hedges, International Affairs Manager
Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs
City of San José – Grantee of Foreign Trade Zone 18
• The Foreign Zone is a federal program passed into law by Congress in 1934 to foster U.S. commerce and trade
• City applied and received federal approval in 1974 for the San José Foreign Trade Zone, the 18th Foreign Trade Zone established in the U.S.
• City administers the Foreign Trade Zone as a public benefit for San José and the region to facilitate economic growth, support jobs, manufacturing and trade
Foreign Trade Zone
• A site in the U.S. that is outside of a U.S. Customs area – the site is considered to be in international commerce
• Foreign merchandise is admitted into a Foreign Trade Zone duty free – duties are paid at the time of entry into the U.S.
Customs area
• A company is able to delay, reduce or eliminate duties on foreign merchandise that is admitted into a Foreign Trade Zone
San José Foreign Trade Zone 18 Service Area
•San José and all cities and towns in Santa Clara County •Fremont
•Hayward
•Newark
•Santa Cruz
•Scotts Valley
•Union City
Maxar Space LLC Epoch International Prism Team Services Lam Research Innovusion, Inc.
Tesla, Inc.
RK Logistics Group
Bloom Energy
Enovix
Roambee
Companies Operating Under San José’s
Foreign Trade Zone Authority
$10 - $25 billion in merchandise received
$5 - $10 billion in exports from the Foreign Trade Zone 26,000-plus employed in the Foreign Trade Zone
Source: 83nd Annual Report of the Foreign Trade Zones Board to the U.S. Congress San José Foreign Trade Zone – 2021 Activity
Foreign Trade Zone Benefits
• Financial savings and operational benefits help to
maintain business operations in the U.S.
• Supports employment in the U.S., the manufacturing
sector and U.S. exports
• Enhances the global competitiveness of companies
operating in the U.S.
San José is a charter member of the national Sister Cities program and established one of the nation’s first Sister City affiliations.
A Sister City affiliation is a permanent official city-to-city relationship between a U.S. city and an international city.
Encourages international citizen diplomacy, collaboration and exchanges in education, the arts, economic development, sport, civic affairs and other community programs.
Sister Cities Program
Okayama, Japan (1957)* Dublin, Ireland (1986)*
San José, Costa Rica (1961) Ekaterinburg, Russia (1992) Veracruz, Mexico (1975) Pune, India (1992)*
Tainan, Taiwan (1977)* Guadalajara, Mexico (2014)*
*Denotes Sister City Program with active community organization San José’s Sister Cities
Sister Cities in San José
Sister Cities in San José
Dublin Lord Mayor’s visit to San José, March 2023
San José Foreign Trade Zone
and Sister Cities Program
Community and Economic Development Committee
Item (d)2
June 26, 2023
Joseph Hedges, International Affairs Manager
Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs