Sonoma County manufacturers can now have some foreign duty fees cut or deferred, the result of an expanded trade zone in the northeastern portion of the Bay Area.
The U.S. Commerce Department has approved an expanded foreign trade zone for the Port of San Francisco, port officials said Tuesday.
The expanded zone includes Sonoma County as far north as Healdsburg, plus Contra Costa, Marin and Solano counties and a portion of Napa County. It previously was limited to San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
In such zones, companies pay no duties or quota charges on items they import and later export. For domestic sales, the duties on those imports can be deferred or lowered.
Local business leaders supported the Port's efforts to include Sonoma County in the expanded trade zone. County officials have said it could mean more local jobs.
"It incentivizes keeping production here," said Ethan Brown, a business assistance officer with the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.
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