Duty is due when goods enter US commerce. A foreign trade zone moves that date. Your container lands at Seagirt, moves in bond to a partner site inside Foreign Trade Zone 74, and sits there with no duty paid. Duty is paid when goods leave for a US customer, on the goods that leave, at the rate in force that day. Goods that re-export never pay. In a high-tariff environment, with Section 232, Section 301 and IEEPA duties in play, that timing is cash.
FTZ 74 is the Port of Baltimore zone. The Baltimore Development Corporation administers it. Its service area covers Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne’s counties. All of Tradepoint Atlantic, the private port at Sparrows Point, sits inside the zone. The port handled $65.6 billion of foreign cargo in 2025. Most of it paid duty on arrival. Some of it did not need to.
How it runs at the Port of Baltimore
The container is released at Seagirt under a zone admission or an in-bond movement, not a consumption entry. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners, who file the admission. A drayage partner moves the box in bond to the partner site. The site operator receives it into zone inventory by part number, quantity and value.
From there, two paths:
- Domestic sale. The broker partner files an entry for the goods that ship, duty is paid on those goods, and the truck leaves. Zone sites can combine a week of shipments into one entry, which cuts the processing fees that bill per entry.
- Re-export. The goods leave for a foreign buyer under a zone-to-export movement. No US duty is paid.
A CBP bonded warehouse works on the same principle with fewer moving parts. Goods enter under a warehouse entry, sit in bond for a period CBP sets, and pay duty on withdrawal for consumption. Bonded suits a smaller program with a shorter dwell. The zone suits a larger, longer or export-heavy program.
Daily status by email lists receipts into bond, withdrawals and inventory on hand by part number.
Which one fits
We walk through the arithmetic before you choose. The FTZ 74 vs bonded warehouse worked example shows the method on a sample container program. The import duty deferral guide covers FTZ, bonded, drawback and temporary import side by side.
What the partner network brings
Baltimore 3PL is not a zone operator and not a customs broker. We are a service-area logistics company. The zone status belongs to the partner warehouse. The entries belong to the licensed customs broker partner. We coordinate both, plus the drayage, so you deal with one desk. That partner network took 50 years to build.
The upside is choice. A program with high-value automotive parts goes to an active zone site near the auto terminals. A program of metals or consumer goods for the Midwest goes to a site with rail access. A short seasonal program goes to a bonded partner with no activation step. Every site we use holds active status with CBP. We place freight only with partners whose permits fit the cargo.
Reach the desk at (419) 745-9492 or operations@sams3pl.com, Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 18:00 Eastern.
What it costs and what moves the price
Zone and bonded warehousing is quoted as storage per pallet per month, handling per pallet, a zone or bond administration fee, and the broker partner fees per entry. The price moves with:
- Duty value at stake. The higher the duty rate and the longer the dwell, the more the deferral is worth against the fees.
- Entry count. Weekly entry at a zone site cuts per-entry costs for a program with many shipments.
- Export share. The more that re-exports, the more duty is never paid.
- Record keeping. Zone inventory is tracked by part and value. Clean item masters cost less to run than messy ones.
- Site activation. An already-active partner site has no setup cost. A new activation does.
- Drayage in bond. Distance from Seagirt to the site, with the harbor tunnels in between for south and west sites.
Where FTZ 74 reaches
The zone follows the county line, not the harbor. Partner sites in Sparrows Point sit inside the zone and a short hop from Seagirt. Howard County sites in the Jessup corridor sit inside the zone and on I-95 toward Washington DC. Harford County sites in Aberdeen sit inside the zone and on I-95 north. Anne Arundel sites near BWI sit inside the zone and near the air cargo apron.
From 2028, the Sparrows Point Container Terminal opens its first berth inside Tradepoint Atlantic, with on-dock rail and full build in 2030. A container will discharge inside the zone and move to a zone warehouse without leaving it. The Sparrows Point terminal page tracks the build. Importers who set up zone programs on the east side now will be in place when it opens.
What to send for a quote
Email operations@sams3pl.com or use the quote form. We reply within one business day. Include:
- HTS codes and duty rates for the main part numbers
- Annual import value and container count
- Average dwell in days and the share that re-exports
- Shipment count per week to US customers
- Preferred side of the harbor or destination lanes
- Whether you already have a customs broker partner and a surety bond
Questions shippers ask
01Are you a customs broker?
No. Customs clearance, zone entries and bonded withdrawals are coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. We coordinate the warehouse, the drayage and the paperwork flow between them.
02What is the difference between FTZ 74 and a bonded warehouse?
Both defer duty. An FTZ site gives more flexibility for warehousing and distribution and cuts processing fees on a program with many shipments. A bonded warehouse is simpler to set up and suits smaller, shorter programs.
03Where is FTZ 74?
Its service area covers Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne’s counties. All of Tradepoint Atlantic at Sparrows Point sits inside it.
04Who administers FTZ 74?
The Baltimore Development Corporation is the grantee. Site activation runs through the BDC and CBP, and we work with partner warehouses that already hold active status.
05Do I pay duty on goods I re-export?
No. Goods that leave the zone or the bonded warehouse for a foreign destination never enter US commerce and pay no US duty.
06How fast can I start?
A program at an already-activated partner site can start as soon as the broker partner sets up the entries. A new site activation takes longer and depends on the BDC and CBP.