{"id":238069,"date":"2025-09-19T04:32:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T04:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/238069\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T04:32:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T04:32:11","slug":"special-zoning-in-san-antonio-allows-local-sellers-more-control-over-the-supply-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/238069\/","title":{"rendered":"Special zoning in San Antonio allows local sellers more control over the supply chain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 From the clothes you wear to the cars you drive, a lot of what we all use every day comes from another country. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kNAFkD cuqaEv article-text\">Walls of imported products from across the world are stored at Port San Antonio, but OpTech\u2019s warehouse isn\u2019t a typical one. It\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portsanantonio.us\/FTZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.portsanantonio.us\/FTZ\">Foreign Trade Zone<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Think of it like this:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>A company orders shipments from overseas.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Instead of paying tariffs right away and before they sell the product, these goods are moved to a secure zone to be stored.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>This zone is called an FTZ.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Businesses don\u2019t have to pay taxes until their products leave this zone.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">David Vequist, a professor of management in the H-E-B School of Business and Administration at the University of the Incarnate Word, said this gives local sellers more control over the supply chain. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kNAFkD cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been seeing an increasing amount of economic activity in these trade zones,\u201d Vequist said. \u201cI think the Foreign Trade Zone also extends San Antonio as a presence on the international scene.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Maru Costa is the chief operations officer for Susto Mezcal out of Austin. They work with OpTech. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kNAFkD cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt helps us logistically,\u201d she said. \u201cOur main markets are Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Corpus Christi.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Costa said the zone has been great for their operation \u201cbecause it helps with our cash flow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kNAFkD cuqaEv article-text\">A map from the governor\u2019s office shows <a href=\"https:\/\/gov.texas.gov\/uploads\/files\/business\/FTZ.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/gov.texas.gov\/uploads\/files\/business\/FTZ.pdf\">35 FTZs<\/a> in Texas as of 2024, and it\u2019s quickly growing. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kNAFkD cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of product that comes in,\u201d Louis Miorelli, the chief operating officer of OpTech, said. \u201cWe will now have almost 200,000 square feet.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">OpTech stores a wide range of products, from alcohol to plastic to O-rings for spaceships. Max Navarro III is the president of OpTech, and the business has been in his family for three generations. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cInstead of paying (tariff costs) all up front, (businesses) can pay it metered out to when the customer pays for that product, that\u2019s when they\u2019ll pay the duty,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He said it helps San Antonio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt helps bring more and more businesses here,\u201d Navarro said. And, for people shopping in the city, \u201ctheir products will be cheaper at the end of the day.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">With tariff talks happening across the world, Navarro said his team has been busy. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe\u2019re getting a lot of phone calls from that recently and a lot more demand,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">An economic impact study released in May revealed Port SA has brought the state of Texas $9 billion. On Friday, a new update on economic impacts from the Port is expected. KSAT will cover the reveal. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><b>Read also:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by KSAT &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 From the clothes you wear to the cars you drive, a lot of what we&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":238070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5133],"tags":[5229,64,127586,7202,7203,2175,358,130,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-238069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-port-sa","11":"tag-san-antonio","12":"tag-sanantonio","13":"tag-tariffs","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-trade","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115229094226731152","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}