FOREIGN TRADE ZONES
the time of entry, liquidation of the duty is suspended pending the
furnishing of a complete account of items liable to duty. If neither
equipment has been purchased nor repairs made to a vessel while at
a foreign port, an affidavit to that effect is required. If sufficient
evidence is produced to show that due to stress of weather or other
casualty encountered in the regular course of the voyage the vessel
was compelled to put into a foreign port for repairs or equipment or
secure such repairs or equipment at the foreign port of destination
in order to enable it to return in safety to its American port of desti-
nation, duties may be remitted or refunded upon application to the
Secretary of the Treasury.
No license or enrollment and license, or renewal of either, will be
issued to any such vessel until the collector is satisfied that all the
equipment and repairs made within the year immediately preceding
application for such documents have been duly accounted for and
the duties paid thereon.
The Canal Zone is not “foreign territory” within the meaning of
section 466 of the tariff act of 1922, and repairs made therein on a
vessel of the United States are not dutiable.
5. EFFECTS OF FREE PORTS OR FOREIGN TRADE ZONES ON
COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURING
EFFECT OF THE FREE PORT ON THE IMPORTER
Countries having free trade have no occasion for foreign trade zones,
and in countries with limited customs tariffs, such as England, Bel-
gium, and the Netherlands, the procedure is not so burdensome as
to encourage the establishment of specially segregated zones. There
are all degrees of customs duties on imports, ranging from those in
countries with comparatively limited tariffs to those in countries
with high tariffs. The establishment of foreign trade zones was
found to be desirable in Sweden, where the customs duties are on
about the same level as in Norway, Finland, Germany, and France,
considerably lower than those in Spain and the United States, but
higher than those in Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland. and
Great Britain.
The free port is concerned chiefly with foreign goods which are to
be reshipped to other foreign destinations, although some of these
imports may eventually be entered for consumption. The formalities
with their attendant delay to the importer of merchandise would be
eliminated within the free zone, and the importer would be able to
secure possession of his goods upon proper proof of ownership.
Assuming the establishment of free ports in the United States and
the same freedom which attends the movement and handling of
cargo in free ports abroad, practically all of the formalities mentioned
above under the head of “Procedure with respect to imports and re-
