Zone Status

The legal status of merchandise that has been admitted to an FTZ, thereby becoming subject to the provisions of the FTZ Act. Zone status distinguishes between merchandise which has already cleared Customs or is a product of the United States (domestic status) and merchandise which was imported and has not yet cleared Customs (non privileged and privileged foreign status), or is being held in a zone pending exportation or destruction (zone restricted status). The choice of which type of zone status is applicable to merchandise is, to a large extent, at the option of the applicant for admission or the owner of merchandise in the FTZ. However, in some cases, the type of status is dictated by law because of the definition of the status in the U.S. Customs regulations, the operation of other laws in conjunction with the FTZ Act, or special condition in the FTZ grant.